From Beyond the Grave
by Igor Lollipop
Summary: Saïx and Xemnas whereabouts have been unknown but come up when the worlds abruptly fall out, into a dangerous order. In the meantime, a boy living in Lomura Kai seems to possess some threatening oddities of his own. Profile for better summary. Sequel!
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: I'm sure Rest of My Life was the first story of mine not to have its title changed. This one will probably change later. xD For now, welcome to Beyond the Grave, the final story in the Two-sided Heart series. If you haven't read any/all of the other stories, I highly suggest doing so. The plot is... well, I can't say it without giving stuff away. xD This is just the prologue! :3 I used this song because it's relaxing and just good for an opening. You could listen to Dearly Beloved, too. Hope you all know what that is. If not, I'm worried and a bit disappointed. xD**

_'Win dain a lotica (In the darkness)_

_En vai tu ri (the dragon)_

_Si lo ta (wakes)_

_Fin dein a loluca. (The dragon awakes.)_

_En dragu a sei lain (To a heart)_

_Vi fa-ru les shutai am (that is numbed with cold)_

_En riga-lint (the dragon takes).'_

**-"Sora" by Hitomi**

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As the final bell rang, the door to the history classroom opened once more as a girl covered with a light dusting of snow darted inside and slunk into her usual seat by the door. Although praying she would remain inconspicuous, a friend to her left hollered, "LATE!" Scowling, she dropped her bag to the floor with a bang and sank lower into her seat. It was a friday -- _the _Friday before winter break started -- and, as the teacher began to speak, most of the students ignored her. Snow was already falling outside, casting a quiet, sleepy glow throughout the room. Why the teacher refused to turn on the lights, the students didn't know and, more importantly, didn't care.

"You'll be glad to know that you'll no longer be doing those dreadful entry points. Doing those is part of the curriculum of only student teachers." A short brunette woman reported in a rough voice in a way that suggested she was far above the silly curriculum of a twenty-year-old teacher-in-training.

The girl had to give her teacher some credit for not bothering to hide her obvious distaste. She always spoke of the old student teacher in such a fashion that she found unfair because she, herself, had favored the twenty-year-old. "Look, Mrs. Rock, who decided to show up to class!" The boy shouted, drawing attention, once more, unto himself and the girl.

Kiera narrowed her seafoam eyes into a glare at the short brunet boy who was wearing thick-rimmed black glasses, and, by the looks of it, eyeliner. **(A/n: He is definitely not Ryley, btw. Dx)** The boy simply smiled unabashedly in return. However, the teacher ignored them both and continued to talk about something unimportant -- her kids, Kiera realized dimly. She only kept her attention on the extremely short teacher (she was the shortest in the classroom, Kiera was sure) for a moment as a boy with a large fro, wearing a Disturbed tee was throwing large paper balls at her.

Sometimes, Kiera wanted to summon Essence of the Heart, her keyblade, to her hand and knock the two boys upside the head. However, she realized that she needed to exercise self-control. Keyblade wielders were meant to help people, not hurt them. Well, most of them, at least. Kiera recalled Destine and Tiesa, two keyblade wielders who were exceptions to the rule. Exceptions that had, at one point, been relatively good friends with her Uncle Arach.

Thinking of him made her frown. Uncle Arach and Aunt Nalani were bringing all four of their children and an additional teenager with them to Arach's home world of Lomura Kai. That meant, of course, that Kiera would seriously be lacking her best friend, Camilla, for the majority (if not complete duration) of Winter Break. They would have their hands full, taking the Gummi Ship with their new baby, Naomi, on board. Naomi, who Kiera's father, Quince, had dubbed "Quincette" long before her birth.

Living with Quince often resulted in Kiera accidentally calling the infant by the dreaded nickname. Arach usually retaliated by lightly knocking her upside the head with his keyblade, Arachnid Nightmare. Then again, that's what he also did to Cashel. Cashel was another addition to their house, Camilla's boyfriend. During their time of working for Dennis, he had taken a liking to her. He had also been bold enough to walk into Organization XIII's stronghold and ask her mother, Stefa, for a heart. Which, of course, she had done.

Then, the Organization had snatched Stefa and the rest seemed like history. History and a far-off memory. Kiera had been without her mother for so long (a year and some months) that she was starting to feel like she was never real at all. It was hard to describe but, then again, many things that had happened that year made her life seem like a dream. Ryley's return was a big one. She smiled fondly as she remembered the conversation that had followed his appearance at the Sea of Tranquility.

_Kiera and Ryley's reunion seemed short lived as Reixka and Quince immediately began to shout at them. "What the hell are _you _doing here?" demanded Reixka as she let her long, brown and silver streaked braid loose. They were leaning over the edge of the pier, and Kiera found herself wondering how they could see so well in the dark. Not that the blazing lights of the nearby buildings didn't make any difference in the lighting or anything. _

_Ryley's eyebrows pulled together and the arrogant smile that Kiera had grown so fond of appeared. "What, didn't you guys missed me?"_

_"Well, sure," replied Reixka, also smiling, although she was gesturing wildly with her hands. "But what makes you think we have any car space for you?"_

_Kiera frowned. "I think you should sit on top of the car to make some space."_

_Reixka and Quince laughed loudly. "Wow, you sound so much like Stefa that it's amazing," commented Quince affectionately. _

_As they expected, Kiera scowled. "I sound nothing like her."_

_"Only you totally do," decided another voice, Kath, as she and her other cousin, Anali, joined them. "Ryley, wow!" _

_Anali shook her head. "You need to work on your reactions, Kath." She looked tired but not angry, which made Kiera assume that Caleb, Camilla's twin brother, had been the one to awaken her. "So, uh, great to see you but how are you here?" _

_Reixka and Quince jumped over the railing and landed expertly on their feet on the sandy beach. Ryley had shaken his head and said, "I really don't know. There was a bright light and... that was it. Here I am."_

_"Almost a year later?" asked Reixka with disbelief. _

_Quince shook his head and put his hands on Ryley's shoulder. "We'll figure it out later."_

That was how they had been playing it for a few months now. They were just playing things by ear. Ryley had, of course, moved in with Kiera and Quince in Stefa's house, which had surprised Kiera greatly. Apparently, Quince had gotten things in order while Kiera lived with Nalani and Riku for the months that she had.

Now that Ryley was back, neither he nor Kiera had hesitated in pursuing a relationship. Was it wrong? Maybe a little bit. But, most people didn't know of their true lineage and the people who did know didn't care. Not even Quince. It had to be because of Kiera and Ryley's "heart connection" that Dennis, Ryley's father, had told them about. Dennis was dead now, so there was no reason to worry about him.

"Kiera, is there something you'd like to share with the class?" asked Mrs. Rock with an eyebrow raised as she and the rest of the class stared at Kiera.

She blushed. "Uh, no, nothing. Nothing at all."

Mrs. Rock merely scowled. "As _fascinating _as your life must be, we must learn about the Civil War now. Is that alright with you?"

Kiera shrugged lightly. She highly doubted that the Civil War was more interesting than her life. After all, she had been forced to learn and relearn about the war since the first grade. Which was more interesting to hear about, seeing different worlds and killing Heartless or listening about John Wilkes Booth shooting Abraham Lincoln for the five-millionth time? "My life is pretty fascinating, Mrs. Rock," agreed Kiera, "but you can go on with the Civil War."

Her own sassiness surprised her and, apparently, the rest of the glass. Everyone but the bespectacled boy and fro boy. "Go to your Dean, Kiera. I'm sure he would be more than happy to see you... again," ordered Mrs. Rock tiredly.

Shrugging, Kiera picked up her backpack, gathered her things, and exited the room. Not before, of course, taking the tell-tale purple slip of paper. It wasn't that she was a bad kid, it was just that... she was growing frustrated after hearing no sighting of Saïx or Xemnas, two ex-Nobodies and Organization XIII members that had captured her mother. She was growing sick of waiting for whatever it was she was waiting for in Jewel's Grove.

So, Kiera reminded herself of Ryley's return and that she would see him right after school. She relaxed as she took the long walk to her dean's office.

**XxxxxX**

Camilla grinned with satisfaction as she walked out of her Chemistry classroom after receiving a pink slip of paper that allowed her to leave school early. Chemistry was her last subject of the day and, as much as she loved to set things on fire, she really wasn't feeling like paying attention. Particularly when it looked so sleepy outside. Besides, she was going to Lomura Kai very, very soon. She had visited a few times over the summer and had grown to love it.

After all, they sold Sky Sugar ice cream there. As she marched upstairs and headed down the main hallway, she was unsurprised to spot Caleb walking in her general direction. While she waited, she paused to examine her reflection in one of the door's window. Her hair had been dyed back to its natural brunet color and was layered and back to the medium length. She had to admit that it was a style she had missed.

Besides, she was always being mistaken for some girl named Misa. She had no clue who the hell that was except for Kiera's younger half-sister and Misao looked _nothing _like she had. "Camilla, are you ditching class again?" asked Caleb with exasperation as he approached his sister.

Camilla smiled and waved her pink pass. She greatly resembled her mother but was totally like her father in attitude. It was very misleading for most of her mother's old friends. "Not today, Cali," she paused to smile at the nickname while Caleb scowled in response. "Ah, that makes me think of Hollywood Undead. I could really use my iPod about now." Without warning, she dug into her pocket and fished out a small, silver iPod nano in a checked case.

"Camilla, that's not _allowed_," Caleb tried to explain, but she completely ignored him, as usual. She blasted a Hollywood Undead song as they walked down the hall and entered the Attendance Office. Once inside the room, they caught a glimpse into the hallway of a dean's office to find Kiera facing an exasperated, old dean.

"Kiera," the dean rubbed the back of his head, "I understand that this must be you acting out, but--"

She shook her head vehemently in response. There was no way she was going to let him slander her good name. Then again, Kiera's past few dozen visits to him was enough to do that. "It's not me acting out. It's Mrs. Rock being overly-emotional. Seriously, Dean Verde, I think you should have her take some pills to balance out her hormones."

Dean Verde wanted to smack his forehead, but he didn't. "Your just like that cousin of yours, Summer."

"Summer, who punched you in the face," recalled Kiera from a story her mother had once told her. "You know, technically she's my second cousin."

Sighing, Dean Verde said, "Listen. Just go to the Point until the bell rings. Do not leave that area, do you understand? I'll let you go for today."

Kiera nodded her head vehemently. "Sure, yeah. Of course I'll be a good girl. Thank you, Dean Verde!" she called over her shoulder before scampering out of the office, filled with other delinquents.

After signing out, Camilla hurried into the hallway to stop Kiera. "Hey, you, stop...!"

Without turning around, Kiera finished, "In the name of love?"

Camilla grinned. The girl knew her too well. As Kiera turned around, she noticed that she had the same smile on her face. "Got off easy today huh, Kier?"

Instead of answering, Kiera replied, "Didn't your mom and dad meet a dude named Keir?" Caleb saved his twin from answering by entering the hallway with a tired expression.

"That secretary yelled at _me _because of the fact that you're listening to music," he informed Camilla.

She shrugged. "I'm listening to Hollywood Undead, dude. Very rarely do people have the balls it takes to tell me off when I'm listening to them."

"Which reminds me that I wanted to listen to Kill the Rock. Badly," remarked Kiera before she, too, dug into her jeans' pocket for her own iPod.

Caleb groaned. "Do _either _of you follow school rules? Besides, Kiera, isn't your teacher Mrs. Rock?"

Kiera smiled innocently. "That's just a bonus factor," she assured him before turning on a blue iPod nano. "I'm going to the Point. Where are you two going?"

"We're leaving, dude," answered Camilla. "Lomura Kai, remember?"

"How could I forget?" sighed Kiera. "I'll be here with the seven inches of snow, dying slowly."

Camilla embraced Kiera into a headlock. "I always say, 'Nothing less than seven inches', don't I?" The three of them broke into loud laughter as they continued down the hallway and entered a once-bright lobby that was now covered in vomit-colored carpeting. They headed for the balcony of the Point and had to pause to admire how it looked. With the snow falling and the glass windows and doors covering the west part of the Point, the area looked extremely pretty, like something out of a dream. They only had a moment to admire it as another boy flagged them down from below.

He was relatively tall, taller than either of his siblings, a few months older than Kiera, and had jet-black hair. His hair was medium-length, and his bangs fell over his right eye a little. "Let's go, slow pokes, Mom and Dad are already here and waiting. Hey, Kiera," he added with a grin.

She waved in reply, not bothering to take out her one earphone as her least-favorite security guard glared something awful at her and Camilla. "Ladies, the school day is not yet over, so I'm going to have to ask you to turn off the music." Her hair was brown, but the silver roots were a tell-tale sign of her age.

They ignored her, and she accepted the fact that they weren't going to follow her order. That's what Kiera loved about the security guards: most of them were so old that they had given up on making kids follow the rules. Caleb looked like he was going to have a heart attack as more security guards glared at them. Camilla and Kiera, on the other hand, looked like they were having the times of their lives. "Take lots of peektures and think about me a ton, alright?" pleaded Kiera as Kaspar met them on the second level of the Point, at the foot of the stairs.

Camilla nodded. "Of course, silly!" She glanced around abruptly, as if just realizing that she had forgotten something. "Hey, where's Cashel?"

"We've been together this long and you only just remembered me?" mock-whined a sandy-haired boy. He was about Caleb's height and had a lip piercing, something that he had always wanted to get done, most likely because his Somebody had once had it or had also wanted it. Cashel thought it suited him either way. When he reached Camilla's side, he laced his fingers with her.

Kiera smiled. "Aw, how cute," she cooed as she walked her four friends to the doors. "Try to be good while you're gone."

"Or, you know, be anything but," smirked Camilla. Kaspar and Caleb hit Cashel in response.

"If you do anything with Camilla, _anything _at all," warned Kaspar, "I will kill you. Now, let's get going so we can get to a sunny beach."

Caleb shook his head. "You only want to see Aerith on our way there," he pointed out. He'd had his own parting words with his significant other, Anali, during lunch. Anali had taken the news the same way that Kiera had. She'd begged to come with, which Kiera couldn't understand at all. She was going to Twilight Town with her parents, Reixka and Axel, and there was really no winter there.

Kaspar shrugged lightly. "I'm not going to lie. Now let's go. Have fun here, Kiera," he added with a playful grin as they stepped out into the snow.

Kiera frowned. Kaspar was like a brother to her (because his family was really just her family, anyway, without the blood), and he never skipped a beat to act like it. Except for, of course, the times as children where they had tried to be more than friends or siblings. That hadn't worked well, much to Nalani and Stefa's disappointment.

She glanced over her shoulder and eyed the digital clock. It was only halfway through eighth period, so what would she do for the remainder? Not follow Dean Verde's rules, of course. Kiera stepped outside as Arach drove away and stared across the school's campus, heading for the lake that was further out. It was quite the walk, and it was more than a little chilly outside, but she could deal.

Besides, while she was out there, she might want to call upon Essence of the Heart. Just to be sure that she could. Kiera knew that keyblades could only be summoned if there was danger which meant that danger had been present for over a year. If that was the case, then she had to wonder why she didn't feel any different. Maybe because all she had known for too long was danger.

When she trekked through the snow, the ice-covered lake came into view, as did the only bench near it. The bench was, regrettably, occupied. That meant she couldn't summon her keyblade. Her eyes narrowed as she got a better look at the boy sitting on the bench. Maybe she was wrong.

Essence of the Heart flashed into her hand. It was a short keyblade or, at least, it was now. Her keyblade had two forms, for whatever reason. When she had been apprehended by Dennis and the powers of darkness had threatened to overtake her in the Realm of Darkness, the keyblade had grown large and shed its white and gold coatings to reveal a shiny, sapphire one. Once Dennis had been killed, it had reverted to its original, white form. Strange enough.

Kiera pressed the cold tip to the back of the boy's neck, and he shivered lightly in response. At the same time, a black keyblade with silver stripes and an angelic and demonic wing making up the hilt flashed into the boy's hand. "It's like you're expecting someone to come after you, Ryley," she murmured with defeat as she pulled away her keyblade. "Oh. Those security cameras can probably see us, and..." She turned around. "My history classroom."

Ryley turned around in the bench to face her as Harmonic Destruction disappeared. "Kiera, what are you doing out here? I thought you had... class."

Essence of the Heart also disappeared. "I do have class, Ry. Wasn't it classy of me to pull my keyblade on you?" she asked with a grin, but he didn't buy it.

"You got sent to Dean Verde again?" guessed Ryley as he adjusted his thick-rimmed glasses and turquoise-checked cap. He really hadn't changed at all in a year's time.

Kiera shrugged lightly before sitting down beside him. She shivered at the coldness that was suddenly upon her. If she hadn't been in such a rush that morning (and if Quince was used to having a daughter), then she might have remembered her jacket. At least she was wearing an orange tee with an orange rose pinned to it rather than the tank top she thought that she would need. In their school, winter was suffocatingly warm from the heat and spring was deadly cold from the air conditioning that they thought was necessary.

Ryley handed her his black leather jacket before putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "I love you, but you need to behave better. You should just count your lucky stars that Dean Verde likes you."

With a snort, she replied, "Yeah, 'likes' me. Sure. Besides, who says 'count your lucky stars' anymore?" she teased before dropping her head onto his shoulder. "It's friday, at least. No more school after this."

"You're always looking ahead, aren't you?" laughed Ryley before dropping his head onto hers. "Yeah, but I'm sure Dad is going to get quite a few calls from the school by the time we get home."

Kiera shook her head. "Nah, I'm cute. They wouldn't bother calling him again." After that, they simply sat in silence, watching the frozen surface of the water with each in their own reverie.

**XxxxxX**

"I am starting to think that not restoring the witch was a mistake," remarked one man from the doorway of a dark room. The tiny bit of his icy hair that was visible made a greater transition in the darkness than it normally did. His amber eyes watched the two other men in the room.

The taller of the two shrugged lightly while the other said, "As long as I get to eat what I pick every once in a while, I'm happy with things just the way you are."The icy-haired man stared at him. "You cannot be happy; you're a Nobody."

"Well, _that's _not very nice, now is it?" asked the other man, slightly baring his sharp teeth as he grinned. The third man simply observed them, as he usually did. Not much had changed with his attitude since he had first gained a heart. However, he heaved a sigh once he realized where their conversation would, inevitably, turn.

"We will figure it out, I assure you two. I'm going to check into it right now," he promised as he stood up from his chair and held out his hand. A flowing portal made of swirling purple and black darkness appeared before it.

The man with the sharp canines watched the one with the portal. "Not gonna disappear for another few days at a time, are ya?"

Portal man chuckled quietly. "Always quick to jump to conclusions, aren't you? It's not too late, you know. The Princess can still give you a heart."

The laugh from the dog-like man was booming in comparison to the other's. "Like I need a heart to slow me down. So long as I can do what I please, I don't care whether or not there's something beating in my chest."

It was the turn of the icy-haired man to laugh. "Yes, yes, but you are... young yet, aren't you? Sooner or later, you will now how truly empty it feels to be, well... empty." He laughed again, and Portal man joined him before disappearing into his vortex.

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**A/n: Is it sad that I only just realized how appropriate Ryley's keyblade is? xD' That's an author fail. Nothing too cool this chapter, but I'm okay with that. Next chapter probably won't be up for quite a few days. Very busy. xD Please review! **


	2. Uncomfortable Bliss

**Chapter Two:**

Uncomfortable Bliss

**A/n: This chapter took longer than I expected to get up. Sorry! I understand if the KieraxRyley pairing is a bit odd to some of you, in fact it's odd to me, but I like it so I'm keeping it. What's writing without a bit of controversy? (Although I think I went way past that in Rest of My Life, but whatever) This chapter starts on Nalani's Gummi Ship! **

**Disclaimer - I only own the amazing amount of OCs and... this plot? Yeah, sure, let's go with that. I don't own Kingdom Hearts! **

_'It's better that we keep this close,_

_Keep you close to me._

_Walking under every sky,_

_Over every sea._

_You can be my modern girl_

_And I can be the one you found.' _

**-"This Town" by O.A.R.**

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Naomi was blessedly quiet as Arach drove the Gummi Ship through space with Nalani handling artillery at his left. Kaspar, who was sitting behind the vitals' screen to the right, thought that his mother was using a little too much force, but he didn't tell her for fear that she would snap at him. Or turn his clothes a different color and refuse to change them back. Cashel, Camilla, and Caleb were chatting animatedly in the back of the cockpit. "So, I can really stick around in the Radiant Garden for a while?" asked Kaspar of his parents. They had already confirmed this several times, but he just wanted to make sure that they hadn't changed their minds.

"_Yes, _Kaspar," answered Nalani with some exasperation as she annihilated a small, nearby Nobody ship. "Cid should give you a ship to join us in Lomura Kai a few days later, but you're sort of missing out."

Kaspar knew what she was speaking of; Radiant Garden and Jewel's Grove were on the same seasons, so it was winter in both worlds. "Incidentally, the drinking age in Lomura Kai is lowered, too. You're going to miss on that, oh yes you are," Arach all but sang.

Nalani glanced at her husband and noticed the faraway look in his eyes. "You're remembering something from your childhood," she noted before glancing at the road before him. "And you're about to hit a really big meteorite." When Arach showed no signs of moving, she pummeled the oversized rock with some laser shots. "What's the drinking age in Lomura Kai?" Arach had never mentioned it before, and she was a little nervous about what his answer would be.

"What's Jewel's Grove's?" replied Arach.

"Twenty-one," came Nalani's slow, hesitant reply. "What's Lomura Kai's?" Her tone was becoming increasingly urgent.

"Take that and rearrange the numbers."

"Twelve?!" shouted Camilla, Caleb, Cashel, and Kaspar. Nalani rubbed her temples before glancing towards the back of the ship.

"Don't you dare; I _mean _it. No drinking for any of you." She turned back towards Arach and frowned. "I don't believe you."

"Alright, alright, it's seventeen," remarked Arach with a smirk. Kaspar cheered while the other three teenagers groaned. "But me and my friends got fake IDs. They sell 'em like candy in Lomura Kai. Too bad you won't be joining us until later, huh, Kaspar?"

Nalani frowned before annihilating two distant Heartless ships that had been no where near their own. "Maybe we should have taken Laurence and Holly's invitation to stay at Destiny Islands."

"No, no, no," replied Arach, still grinning. "We're going. Lots of drinking is just what I need."

"You can drink in _any _world," pointed out Nalani. "And why do you feel the need to go on a drinking rampage?"

Arach nodded but held up his index finger in a manner reminiscent of Cap'n Jack Sparrow. "Yes, but it's much _cheaper _in Lomura. Why do I need to drink? Because our blessed children force me to do so."

"That's just an excuse," protested Caleb.

"_You _make _me _drink," muttered Nalani under her breath. "I somehow don't feel like we can trust our children to do the right thing and not go for fake IDs."

"Why do you say that?" inquired Arach innocently, already knowing her response.

"Because they're half of you," sighed Nalani. "And... I'm not much better."

"And we're here in the Radiant Garden. I'll be joining you for a drinking rampage soon," promised Kaspar as he stood up and moved to the center of the cockpit. A green light engulfed him and he was beamed down to the Marketplace below.

"Camilla, want to take over artillery?" asked Nalani as she also stood up. "I think I need some sleep." Camilla nodded and took her mother's place.

"You're going to grab the bottle of tequila and start drinking, aren't you?" Camilla asked, giggling somewhat.

Nalani ruffled her daughter's hair. "Well... I'm not going to lie. Come get me when we get there." Then, she disappeared through the door in the back of the cockpit. Caleb, in the meantime, took the seat behind the ship's vital screen.

**XxxxxX**

**-Destiny Islands-**

The temperature on the Islands had only managed to drop a little, which was one of the things that Riku had missed most about his home world. Even during the winter season, it felt like summer. A mild summer, or maybe spring. That's what it felt like, to Riku at least. It was Friday afternoon, and he was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee clenched in one hand. For the first time in a long time, the house was completely quiet, no sounds of children playing or a certain woman laughing.

Holly had decided to take Misao and Bryce to the play island, but he knew that she had not formulated the plan on her own; Kairi had decided to take Kamon with her over there. Kamon was a teenager, and he didn't need his mother to go anywhere with him, but his loneliness from missing his younger sister, Gina, made it the perfect opportunity for the two of them to spend time together. Which reminded Riku of something.

He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall above the sink. Riku finished the rest of his coffee and stood. Sora already had Laurence and Everett at his and Kairi's home; the four of them were going to play Laurence's favorite game, poker. As Riku placed the empty mug into the sink and started out of the house, he noticed one of Kiera's books sitting on the floor.

Riku wasn't sure how it had gotten there, but he bent down to pick it up. An obviously loved copy of Melissa Marr's book, Wicked Lovely, had been taken out of the bookshelf in Kiera's room. He wondered if Misao had tried to read it, to remind herself of her older sister. Kiera had been gone for several months, but the house still felt empty to him. It was difficult to get used to the fact that she didn't live with anymore. It was almost as difficult as adjusting to the fact that she was living with _Quince_. Almost.

He shook the thought from his head as placed the book on top of the entertainment system and headed outside. Sora's house wasn't too far away, just about a block or so. When he arrived there and knocked on the door, a man with black and red-streaked hair answered the door. He grinned knowingly and leaned in the doorway. "Riku, fancy seeing you here."

"Laurence, I'm dating your sister, remember? I've never been interested you and never will be," he remarked, point-black, although he was grinning. A tall, tan man appeared beside Laurence and put a hand on his shoulder. His dark hair reached all the way down to his neck.

"Maybe you should stop flirting with the dude who's not your boyfriend?" suggested the man with a wink in Riku's direction. Laurence grinned and moved so that Riku was able to enter the house. He headed to the living room, leaving the happy couple talking near the front of the house.

Seated at a poker table was a tall brunet man with his chocolate hair styled into lethal-looking spikes. To this day, Riku still thought that if he touched his best friend's head, he would pull away a bloody hand. Electric blue eyes locked onto his seafoam ones as the other man sensed his entry. "Riku, I can tell by your pained expression that Laurence answered the door."

"Right you are, Sora," agreed Riku with a small chuckle. "Why did you have him answer the door?"

"Because, I'm getting the cards ready," replied Sora as he slightly bent the deck of cards in his hand. As a result, the cards went flying and fell all over the floor and table.

Laurence and Everett chose that moment to enter the living room. "Wow, Sora. I don't think that Luxord himself could have done much of a better job," remarked Laurence.

Sora hurled another deck of cards bound with a rubberband at him. "You deal, then."

**XxX**

"At least Kamon can act like a big brother towards those two," a silver-haired woman remarked as she watched a red-haired boy follow two smaller children into a cave beside an overgrown tree.

The redheaded woman beside her nodded as she played with the white strap of her indigo dress. The dress was just a shade or two darker than her eyes. "Yeah. It's good for him, I think. But I feel bad for Deirdre..."

"Your niece," recalled the silver-haired woman. "Right. Well, there are plenty of kids in Twilight Town. Roxas and Naminé's friends have kids, right? I'm sure she's fine."

"Holly, Tristan was her _twin_; her best friend. How do you think Camilla would be if Caleb was killed, and vice-versa?" demanded the woman.

Holly sighed in defeat. "You're right, Kairi, you're right. It's been a little over a year, though. At least the wound's not quite so fresh."

Kairi knew she was right, too, but it pained her that their enemy had, once again, been able to take away the best of things from them. There was Tristan and, of course, Stefa. There hadn't been a word about Saïx, Xemnas, or Farkas. Kairi and Holly, thinking on the same wavelength, relaxed. Holly patted the trunk of the paopu tree that they were sitting on fondly. "A nice tree, but the legend isn't exactly true, is it?" wondered Holly.

"Well, that was a special case, I think. Quince and Stefa were bound to each other. If someone else were to share a paopu with, let's say, Riku, then I'm sure the result would be better."

Neither woman spoke for a moment, but a smile was slowly appearing on Holly's face. "Clever, Kairi. Are you telling me to bring one of these home to Riku?"

Kairi shrugged lightly and lay down on the tree. "I never said that, but if that's what you're instinct says, then you should follow it." A few seconds of silence passed before their laughter filled the air.

**XxxxxX**

**-Jewel's Grove-**

When they were just a block away from home, Kiera ran down the snow-covered sidewalk, past the three trees where Stefa, Nalani, and Quince used to hang around as children. Her feet crunched in the snow, and Ryley shook his head and laughed as she disappeared around the corner. He stopped at the bike trail and glanced towards the isolated cave. The cave that held so many memories for their parents and even them.

"Wow, you're slow! Come on!" called Kiera, who had doubled-back to the corner to still find Ryley standing near the trees. He ran to catch up to her.

As they walked down the sidewalk to their house, the snow began to start up once again. "Let him not be home, let him not be home, let him not be home," breathed Kiera, her thoughts obviously on Quince getting yet another call from school.

The garage door was closed, and there appeared to be no activity inside the house. Kiera cheered as she fished her keys out of her pocket. She shivered lightly as she touched the freezing silver of them. Why they had decided to walk home on such a day was a mystery to them both. Kiera shoved the key into the lock, turned it, and opened the door.

Once they were inside the warm house, Ryley's phone began to ring. He picked it up and, as Kiera stared at him expectantly, mouthed the name Carson. Kiera groaned, rolled her eyes, and mouthed back, "I'm going to take a nap." She kicked off her white shoes, dropped her skull backpack to the ground, and headed upstairs.

She collapsed on the familiar, twin-sized bed, rolled over, and almost instantly fell into a deep sleep. As she began to drift, she could hear Ryley's voice saying, over and over, "Shut up, Carson."

_The sun was shining brightly when Kiera awoke, and she smiled when she noticed the window was open. The sky was golden and the large tree in the backyard was swaying with its branches full of leaves. It was summer again. As Kiera pushed herself into a sitting position on the bed and turned towards the window, she noticed a red bird flying towards the cave across the field._

_At first, she thought it was a cardinal. Despite the cardinal being Jewel's Grove official bird and sign, they were a rare sight to see. She quickly realized the bird was too large to be a cardinal, even an oversized one. Kiera hopped out of bed, ran downstairs, and took off into the backyard. She didn't run into a single person as she moved, but she realized that she wouldn't have stopped either way._

_For whatever reason, her heart was really into tracking down the bird. In the backyard, Kiera ran towards the fence. She put one foot on one of the horizontal pieces of wood and put the other at the top of the fence. Kiera was able to easily get over it. When she landed on two feet, she didn't wait a moment to catch her breath or gather her thoughts. She quickly took off across the grass and entered the cool cave. _

_"Haven't been here for a while," she murmured to herself as she entered. She squinted, but she couldn't find a trace of the bird. Kiera sighed and gave in to the fact that maybe she had been seeing things. Her eyes traced the walls, covered with drawings, and stopped on the chibi forms of her mother, Nalani, and Quince. A smile appeared on her face. All felt tranquil and good, for the moment. It wasn't a feeling she got often, so she held onto it. _

_Kiera quickly turned as she heard rustling behind her. The red bird was hanging onto a bunch of ivy that had grown on the other side of the cavern's wall. Now that she was standing just a few feet away, she realized how big the bird was exactly. Its body was the size of a swan, and the wings, as it lifted them from its back, were absolutely huge. _

_It was a breathtaking bird. Kiera stared at it in shock and awe for a moment, and the bird simply stared back with its glassy, black eyes. Without warning, it burst into flames, the ashes falling to the floor as its body burned away. Kiera didn't will her body to remain another second. As if her feet had a mind of their own, they ran out of the cave while her head struggled to comprehend what it had just seen._

**XxxxxX**

**-Lomura Kai-**

Camilla loved how the sun always seemed to be setting when they arrived at Lomura Kai. She had visited several times, and the sun was always disappearing below the ocean, casting beautiful colors in the sky, when she first got there. Arach had landed the Gummi Ship behind the large mansion that was their home. When he and Nalani had visited Lomura Kai shortly after Dennis' destruction, they had purchased his old house. It was a large house, located near a beach. None of the children had complained when they'd been told about it.

"We're going to unpack and wind down a little," Nalani informed Cashel, Camilla, and Caleb. "The three of you are free to do whatever you want -- _as long as it's legal_."

Cashel and Camilla nodded their heads earnestly as they led Caleb out of the house. "Yep, legal, got it!" called Camilla as they exited the yard and started down the street. The neighborhood where the house was located was extremely unpopulated -- probably because the houses had all belonged to the dark wielders and their families. Destine's house still had some family members living in it. Laurence and Holly's had been torn down by their order and rebuilt. Now it served as a vacation home, if and when they chose to visit. No one wanted to buy Tiesa's house, for obvious reasons. Sage lived in his old house, still, but he was at work, they already knew.

The farther they got away from home, the more people they began to see outside. Mostly teenagers dressed in clubbing outfits were heading further into the city, while older couples that were taking walks for the last bit of daylight headed home. No one, they had learned from many visits, wanted to be out when the teenagers were scouting out their clubs for the night.

Camilla and Caleb weren't big on the club scene, but Cashel rather enjoyed it. However, when they reached the corner where the club, Hydrolic, was located near, Caleb paused. "I'm going to see if Katana and Kya are at the club. See you two." As he started down a different sidewalk, Cashel shouted for him to wait.

Cashel turned toward Camilla and grinned. "I sort of want to check out the club, Cam. Is that cool?"

She rolled her eyes. "I guess I'll go to the record shop on my own, then. Have fun and be good, you two!" she called as Cashel and Caleb headed towards the club. Hydrolic was a club for teenagers, she knew, so they could get in without a problem.

Camilla had her eyes on the prize of a bar that allowed seventeen year olds in. She knew that if she found Sage, then he would probably be able to hook her up with a fake ID. A few blocks later, Camilla entered the vintage record shop to find Sage sitting behind the counter with a bored expression. "Business a little slow tonight?" she asked, grinning.

Sage ran a hand through his spiky green hair before pausing to toy with his cartilage piercing. "It's a Friday night in Lomura Kai; what do you expect?" he asked with a smirk. "How you doin', kid?"

"Kid?" Camilla scowled. "You only look a couple years older than me."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, when in reality, I'm a good deal older than that. Never mind that, though. What can I do you for?"

"This is a record shop. How do you know I don't just want a CD of some sort?"

Sage laughed. "Because I know you well, your mother well enough, and your father too much. So. What do you want?" He got off of the stool he had been sitting on and leaned across the counter to get a better look at her.

"I want a fake ID so I can get into a bar," remarked Camilla.

Another laugh from Sage. "Can't say I'm surprised. I'm guessing, since you're only asking now, that your father just told you about the drinking age?" At her nod, he continued, "What makes you think I can get you a fake ID?"

Camilla stared at him seriously; it was the only response he needed. "You look seventeen. All we need to do is give you an ID with an altered birth date," stated Sage.

**XxX**

An hour later, Camilla headed in the direction of, what Sage called, the best bar in Lomura Kai. It was certainly the biggest, if nothing else, she noticed as she pushed through the door. All she had to do to get inside was flash her fake ID at the bouncers standing outside. When she slid into a stool at the bar, she immediately requested a white chocolate martini. She wasn't sure how good it would be, but she figured that she would experiment for a little.

Two seventeen-year-olds sat on a stool on either side of her. "Hey, babe, can we buy you a drink?" asked a redheaded boy with deep green eyes.

"Yeah, sweetie. We'll get whatever you ask us to," added a blond with the same green eyes. She guessed that they were brothers or, at the very least, related in some way, shape, or form.

Neither of them were very attractive, in her opinion. Camilla raised a fine brown eyebrow at them. "I don't know if you two are deaf, but I'm pretty positive you just heard me order something. You were stalking me the minute I came in here."

The boys chuckled loudly, and she guessed that they were already drunk. "Good eyes, babe," remarked the redhead. "Let us get you a margarita. Or do you like just straight tequila?"

"No one likes straight tequila, douche bags. Why don't you leave her alone before I _make _you leave her alone?" another voice demanded. Camilla and the two boys turned their heads towards the new arrival.

Both boys snorted. "Like we're afraid of you, Chris. You wanna go?" asked the blond as he and his brother stood up and turned towards the other boy. The boy had soft brown hair that had somewhat of a red sheen. His dark brown eyes were narrowed with determination and anger. He sort of reminded Camilla of someone, but she couldn't place who.

She also noticed that the boys, while they said they weren't afraid of Chris, were shaking and their eyes were fearful. "Don't waste your breath, mongrel," sighed Chris. "Just get the hell out of here." They did just that. Without a second glance at Camilla, they took off towards the exit.

Camilla hadn't exactly needed anyone to rescue her, but she felt a rush of gratitude towards the boy. She guessed, by his appearance, that he was around her age, maybe a year or so older. He was definitely taller than the average guy, too. "I guess I should thank you,--"

"Christian," the boy introduced himself. "But feel free to call me Chris. And you are...?" He sat down to her left.

"Camilla."

Christian tilted his head toward her and smiled. His expression held none of the deadliness that it had a moment ago; it was completely serene now. "You live here, Camilla?"

She shook her head. "I'm visiting with my family."

He nodded. "Well, nice to have you in Lomura Kai, all the same. Staying long?" The bartender arrived with Camilla's drink, and Christian ordered some type of mudslide.

"A couple of weeks, I think. Where I live, we're on winter break," she explained before taking a sip of her drink. It tasted better than what she had expected, but the martini managed to ruin the taste of the white Godiva chocolate.

Christian chuckled at her puckered lips. "Not that good, huh? Can I try?" She nodded and pushed the drink toward him. For whatever reason, she didn't feel ill at ease despite the fact that she had just met him. In fact, she felt like she'd known him for a long time. He took a sip of the drink and also puckered his lips. "Augh. Yeah, that's just not gonna work. Irish mudslide for her too, barkeep. My treat," he added to Camilla.

Camilla shook her head. "You don't _have _to--"

"I want to," he assured her. "You're from another world, right, Camilla?" She blinked in surprise, and he laughed again. It was like music to her ears. "I just know these things. So. Where from?"

"Jewel's Grove. It's my mother's home world, but Lomura Kai is my Dad's. I have to admit that I really like it here, too," she remarked.

"You should visit more often," decided Christian as the bartender returned with two Irish mudslides.

"You only just met me," pointed out Camilla before taking a sip of the drink. She wasn't a huge chocolate fan, but it actually wasn't half bad.

Christian nodded after taking a sip of his own. "I know, but I like you already." Camilla's cheeks burned, and Cashel was once again forgotten. "So, Camilla, tell me a little about yourself."

* * *

**A/n: We meet Christian at last! I know, I know, this story is starting out really slow, but it will only get better from here, I promise. I also promise that Christian is my last OC. xDD' I'm leaving tomorrow for a week of vacation (that... shouldn't surprise my old readers at this point), but I have the next two chapters already finished. x3 Please review and I will update soon.**


	3. All We Are

**Chapter Three:**

All We Are

**A/n: The song for this chapter a lot of you probably won't like, but I think that it works for a lot of the characters. At least, when it comes to the more prideful parts. So, if you don't like it, then you don't have to listen to it. **

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts. **

_'(Kill the lights.)_

_These children learn from cigarette burns,_

_Fast cars, fast women,_

_And cheap drinks._

_(It feels right)_

_Oh, these asphyxiated, self-medicated_

_Take the white pill, you'll feel alright.'_

**-"I'm Not Your Boyfriend Baby" by 3OH!3**

**

* * *

  
**

Ryley knocked on Kiera's door twice before opening it. He was half-surprised that she didn't yell at him, as she always did, but he soon figured out why. She was sitting up, staring at the bookshelf across her bed. "Kier?" he asked before sitting beside her on the bed.

Kiera blinked and looked over at him, as if noticing him for the first time. "Oh, Ry. What's up?"

"I thought you were going to take a nap?" replied Ryley with his own question, his eyebrows raised.

She nodded. "I tried, had a weird dream, and here I am. Now, what did you want?" Her tone was a little less faraway and more annoyed. He knew that she wouldn't tell him much more than that.

"Carson has the guys over at his house, and he invited me over, so I'm going. You don't want to join me, do you?" he asked with a wry smile, already knowing her response.

Kiera laughed. "I love you, but I would sooner walk through hell for you."

He grinned. "Thought I would try, anyway. You gonna be okay by yourself?" She nodded almost immediately. He pressed his lips to hers, and she returned the key with eagerness, but he broke away too soon for her tastes. "See you later." Ryley stood up and was gone once again.

Kiera lay back on her bed and stared up at her white ceiling. Without Camilla and Ryley, there was nothing for her to do. Maybe she would go bother Kath or Anali, then. Any of those sounded good. She stayed on the bed long enough to hear the front door open and close as Ryley left. Then, she got up, changed into warmer clothes, and brushed through her hair.

She pocketed her cell phone but didn't bother calling anyone. Her arrival would be a surprise, she decided.

**XxxxxX**

There were murmurs, Sage noted, as he stepped out of the record shop and closed it for the night. Teenagers that were standing around in the alleys or hanging around the gutters with cigarettes in their hands were speaking of a visit they had witnessed. For some, it was a visit they had been witnessing for some time. "I saw him, dude; I swear," a redheaded teenager with too many ear and facial piercings began as he closed his brown leather jacket around him. A gaggle of his friends surrounded him. "Tan skin, yellow eyes, real nice silver hair..."

"You're lying," snorted a girl with purple hair. The purple looked so fake that it was disgusting. "Everyone knows that's what the dude looks like. What matters is that you have _proof_, dumb bell."

The redhead glowered at her. "So I guess I need to do what you need to do to prove you have a boyfriend: snap a photo of him real quick, right?" He took a drag on his cigarette as the girl's pale cheeks turned beet red.

Sage chuckled as he passed them, mostly in order to stop himself from worrying over the man they were talking about. Xemnas coming to Lomura Kai was insane, totally unfathomable; there was no reason Xemnas would want to come there. He squeezed his thumb and index finger around the ring that pierced through his cartilage. There was no way he could wave off their description, and he knew it. It was rather unlikely for another man of the same description of Xemnas to show up.

While he hated himself for doing it, Sage stopped in front of the redhead. "Where exactly did you see this man?" The redhead and his friends regarded him with suspicious glares.

"Why do you want to know...?" demanded a boy with deep black hair and skin the color of paste. It was obvious to Sage that he also dyed his hair. In fact, maybe everyone in the group did. That was of none of his concern, however.

Sage yawned, held out his hand, and summoned Old Faithful. It appeared in a brilliant flash, the jewels on it glittering brightly under the lighting from a nearby streetlight. "Maybe you wanna be a little nicer to me, hm? Now, where did you see this man?" He kept his tone calm and his expression indifferent. The black-haired boy paled, if that was possible, and looked back at the rest of his group as he backed up."Dude, we don't want any trouble," began the redhead.

Old Faithful's tip was just an inch or two from his face. "I don't give a fuck _what _you want. Just tell me what I asked. Where did you see the silver-haired man? Tell me before my patience snaps and I have to hurt one of you."

"Keyblade wielders don't hurt people!" insisted indigo-haired girl. Sage barely spared her a glance.

"Do you have any idea who I am? No? Well, let me enlighten you," Sage shouldered his keyblade and stared down the fifteen-year-olds with a cool glance. "The name's Sage, and you'd probably do well to remember it. My friends and I drowned Lomura Kai in darkness long before you brats were even thought of. We were known as the dark wielders." Their facial expressions changed a little at the name. "Tiesa, Destine, Laurence, Sage, Holly, and _Arach_. Names sound familiar to you?"

Indigo-haired girl slowly nodded. "Arach, he... scary, scary, scary," she said more, but her words were lost as she continued in a whisper.

Sage felt himself smirk with pride. "Quite. Now, tell me what I need to know or else I'll kill you without a second thought."

"But you're reformed!" insisted Indigo, obviously regaining her courage. Sage fixed that by glowering her way, instantly stifling her.

"The lab, the beach... In your neighborhood," whispered the goth kid. Sage raised his eyebrows, but the kid didn't explain how he knew where he lived. Not that it mattered; most people in Lomura Kai were aware that he'd lived in the same house, the same neighborhood as the others, for his whole life.

"So kind of you to respond. Well, take care," remarked Sage as Old Faithful disappeared and he walked off, in the direction of the club that he'd sent Camilla to.

He was unsurprised to hear Indigo call out to him; they weren't going to let him off that easily. "What's it feel like to kill someone?" demanded the redhead.

Sage shrugged. It had been so long, that he couldn't recall the feeling. "Not all it's cracked up to be, so don't go shooting up the school."

"Why do you still look seventeen?" wondered Indigo.

"Seventeen forever, haven't you heard?" replied Sage. "Got bit by a vamp, obviously. See ya." This time, he ignored their cries as he continued in the direction of the bar. For the first time, he wondered if Arach's kids could admit who their parents were, in Lomura Kai, and not get mobbed instantly. He supposed the reaction would be similar in Jewel's Grove, from some people, if they knew their mother was Nalani. Arach was notorious in Lomura Kai for obvious reasons.

Once he was a block away from the kids, he found Caleb walking with two woman down the street. Sage raised his eyebrows as the three of them approached him. "Geez, Caleb, I thought you had a girlfriend. Or maybe you're like your father?" wondered Sage.

Caleb's eyebrows knitted together. "What's that mean?" Sage shook his head.

"Nothing, nothing. Kya, Katana, you two are breaking up a nice couple."

"Stop being an idiot, Sage. You know that's not what we're doing," growled the brunet, the taller of the two women, as she hit Sage's arm as hard as she could. She pushed a long, wavy lock of hair behind her ear while the blonde unsheathed and re-sheathed her sword.

Sage grinned at them. "You know I'm kidding, Kya. Katana, do you really need to wear that thing? Are you even allowed?"

The blonde, Katana, smiled with her lips and deep blue eyes. "It's a habit," she admitted. "Besides, everyone knows that Kya and I have been Lomura Kai's last line of defense since it was restored; no one questions it." Sage believed that. At the very least, he believed that Katana and Kya had threatened people who _had _questioned them so that it was so. Her foot abruptly moved and ground something into the pavement. When she pulled away her foot, he noticed a squished millipede, some of its legs still twitching some.

"Man, Kat, you have a sixth sense for those, swear to God," muttered Kya, smiling somewhat but rolling her deep brown eyes nonetheless. "Then again, they are getting pretty common."

"Ants I can deal with. Millipedes? Definitely not," murmured Katana, a small blush upon her cheeks.

Sage's eyes settled on Caleb, who had remained completely quiet during most of the exchange. "So, Caleb, what are you doing with these _fine _young women?"

"Cashel decided to go club-hopping, so I was heading home. They offered to walk with me," he replied.

Before Sage had the opportunity to make a witty remark about that, Kya said, "Because it's not the best idea to have a fifteen-year-old as good as Caleb wandering around with the filth that we like to call club-goers and bar-hoppers."

"Well, as it turns out, I was going to head home, too, but I wanted to check on Camilla first, at Seventeen Forever," informed Sage. Kya and Katana raised their eyebrows.

"So, first, you gave Camilla a fake ID. Then, you went on and pointed her in the direction of Lomura's most notorious bar. No wonder you went to hell," remarked Katana although Sage and Kya both knew that she didn't mean it. "Well, Seventeen Forever sounds like a good destination. We'll go with."

Caleb blinked. "But I can't get into a bar, and I don't want a fake ID," he added as Sage opened his mouth.

Katana slid her sword out of its scabbard again to get her point across. "So we use persuasion. Let's go."

**XxxxxX**

The walk to Carson's was relatively painful for Ryley and served as a good reminder for why he needed to find a job in order to buy a car. As he walked, he thought of what had transpired in the last couple years of his life. Automatically, his mind jumped to thoughts of his mother, if only because Kiera and Camilla had seen her. His eyes narrowed somewhat as too many emotions raged inside of him. For the short amount of time that she had been back, he had been lost in the darkness, too weak and stupid to find a way out. He had missed out on seeing his mother again. His mother, the only familiar face if only because everyone he had grown up knowing seemed different in his eyes from the truth that Dennis was his father.

Not that it wasn't for the best, in his case. Since Dennis -- crazy, fucking Dennis -- was his father, it made his relationship with Kiera a little better. Only a little, though, because in the back of his mind, he knew... He knew that dating your first cousin was only for monarchs and the rich from back in the 1800s. Then again, since Kiera was a Princess, she was technically a monarch, a royal. His lips lifted into a half-grin. He knew that he only felt the way he did because winter reminded him so much of his mother. She had been murdered by Dennis in the wintertime, before Christmas.

Ryley looked up as he was pelted in the chest by something relatively hard. Across the street stood quite a few boys his age, all with snowballs in their hands, and even more around their feet. As a car passed the house where they were, they pelted it with their snowballs. The driver honked his horn and shouted, "Damn kids!" The boys roared with laughter, and Ryley found himself wondering why he associated himself with them as he crossed the street. The thought reminded himself of a conversation he'd had a year earlier, in the autumn.

_"How do you eat that stuff?" demanded Ryley as he watched Kiera take off the wrappings of the sea salt ice cream that she'd just bought from the ice cream machine._

_With a smirk, Kiera responded, "The same way you deal with your friends: stay up late and cry a lot." _

His smile became more pronounced as he crossed onto Carson's driveway, only to be pelted by more snowballs by Carson himself. Carson had grown a little taller over the summer, and he'd ditched the beanies that he usually saved for, ironically, the warmer months. He wore glasses occasionally now and constantly made remarks about truly being Ryley's brother. Knowing his true father, Ryley wouldn't have been surprised. Carson rolled up the purple sleeves of his hoodie, obviously growing warm from throwing snowballs at all who passed. "That only took forever, Ry."

"You're only being a little dramatic, Carson," replied Ryley evenly as he pushed up the bridge of his glasses. Carson mocked him by doing the same. The two of them were pelted by the remaining snowballs that the others had.

"Ah, shit, you morons shouldn't have done that," growled Carson. "Look." Ryley and the others followed Carson's gaze to a couple that was coming down the street. One of them was a short latina girl with her normally curly black hair straightened and hanging around her face in an attempt to shield it from the cold. The taller one was a blond boy with his hair spiked. They weren't a couple, Ryley knew, because they were two of Kiera's friends: Jason and Isabel.

Out of respect for his girlfriend more than liking of the two of them, Ryley murmured, if not a little emotionlessly, "No, guys. We should just leave them alone..."

Carson doubled-over with laughter. "Oh, stop, Ryley. You start dating that princess, and you suddenly want to stop us from having our fun."

"That's because your fun ruins other people's lives," pointed out Ryley.

"So?" another one of his friends asked as he slung an arm around Carson's neck. This brunet was a little taller than Carson, but Ryley was taller than everyone in the group. He was wearing a black baseball cap over his medium-length hair, with the cap tilted at an angle. As Isabel and Jason came closer to passing the house, the brunet pulled the hood of his camouflage sweatshirt over his head.

"Charlie..." Ryley trailed off and shook his head. He had, admittedly, always had fun giving Isabel a hard time; on the other hand, Jason was on good terms with him and the rest of the group. Carson, Charlie, Ryley, and the others began to pack snow into their hands until they had quite the arsenal of snowballs at their feet.

"Ready, steady... fire!" ordered Charlie and Carson before everyone began to pelt mostly Isabel with snowballs. Isabel shrieked and covered her head with her arms while Jason hung back, wincing with empathy for her instead of trying to help her by shielding her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" another girl's angry voice demanded. Ryley winced with real pain at the tone in her voice. "Oho, Ryley..." And Kiera was suddenly there, in front of him. The two of them fell into the knee-deep snow.

Isabel and Jason were cheering on Kiera, and the guys were cheering on Ryley, but neither of them hardly had any idea that they were fighting. It was somewhat common for Kiera to tackle Ryley. Still, in order to give the crowd what they wanted, Ryley rolled Kiera over so that he was on top of her instead. The group began to ooh and make the same, loud sexual cracks that they usually did. Kiera rolled Ryley over and she was back on top. "That's right, Kier, you get on top!" shouted Isabel, Jason, and a third voice. The third voice came from an auburn-haired girl of average height. Her hair, normally held in braids, was wavy and reached a little past her shoulders. She was wearing a green t-shirt with a white undershirt and bright blue jeans. Her green boots made crunching noises in the snow. Ryley and Kiera both groaned as Charlie and Carson started toward Anali.

"Ana, baby. So nice to see you here. I knew you'd take up my invitation eventually," remarked Charlie with a large grin.

Anali raised her eyebrows. "Isn't this Carson's house?"

Carson shoved aside Charlie and put an arm around Anali's waist, a very unwise move. "So you know it. Well, if you wanna come inside..." Sakura Bond appeared in a brilliant flash.

Smiling, Anali said, "You might just want to back away from me." Nodding vehemently, Carson and Charlie backed away from her. They were still grinning, and Ryley knew they had only halted their advances for the time being.

"Anali, what are you doing here?" asked Kiera as she got off of Ryley and headed in the direction of her cousin. Snowballs pelted her back, but she ignored them. "You know, she's not the only one who can whoop your asses with a giant key."

"Was that a sexual innuendo or a threat?" wondered Jason as he and Isabel joined Anali and Kiera.

"We're leaving soon, and I was heading over to say goodbye to you," Anali answered Kiera's question. Everyone ignored Jason's.

Kiera inclined her head. "Twilight Town already? Have fun. I'll just be here, with them," she groaned as more snowballs hit her. Essence of the Heart flashed into her hand, making Jason and Isabel back up a little. Still, the attack did not halt. Kiera squeezed her fingers around the hilt and was, for whatever reason, reminded of her dream. She quickly shook the thought from her head. There was only one dream interpreter she knew of, and she was in Lomura Kai. Well, two, but Kiera wouldn't breathe a word of her silly dreams to Aunt Nalani.

Anali hugged her tightly, locking her arms around her cousin's back. Carson ordered a halt to their offensive. "You know, you could come with us, if you wanted," she whispered in Kiera's ear. "Mom and Dad said they would be more than happy to have you come along."

Kiera's heart twisted at the kind offering, but she shook her head. She couldn't go with them for the same reason that she had been unable to take up Nalani's offer to come with them to Lomura Kai: guilt. Kiera didn't want to be another mouth to feed or a burden on anyone. Besides, she felt like something was going to happen, something that she had told to no one, and she wanted to be around when it happened. Jewel's Grove should not be devoid of its keyblade wielders, especially when the strongest of them (Arach, Nalani, Elie, Stefa, Reixka) were missing. Not to say that Quince wasn't strong or anything, because he was. But, as the world's history proved, one wielder was not enough. It rarely was anywhere, Kiera thought.

"Thanks, Ana, but I couldn't. I'll be fine, really," she assured her cousin as she parted. And the attack commenced where it had left off. Anali nodded, gave her hand a little squeeze, and started off. A few steps away, she paused as if remembering something. Sakura Bond flashed back into her hand, and she turned, sending a wave of fire from the tip. The fire came just close enough to the boys' feet and melted the snow so that the grass was visible.

"Keep giving my cousin trouble, and I'll do it to you next," came Anali's cheerful announcement before the weapon disappeared. "And, you," she turned toward Ryley. "You take care of since Camilla and I won't be around to do it. If anything happens to her during the remainder of Winter Break, then you're going to find out that my idea of a 'chat' doesn't much differ from my father's." With that, Anali turned back around and headed home. "Bye!"

Ryley lifted his cap and smoothed down his hair. Snow was beginning to fall from the sky. "She's kinda scary, huh?" he murmured.

"Just as scary as Camilla," decided Kiera with a prideful grin.

**XxxxxX**

When Camilla and Christian walked out of the bar, they were a little more than surprised to find Sage, Katana, Kya, and Caleb about ready to enter. Sage ran a hand through his hair. "Huh. So I guess this doesn't give me a reason to drink..." murmured Sage. He had been, admittedly, hopeful that Camilla would run into Christian at the bar, so that he might help her out if she needed it.

Kya shrugged lightly. "I'm not too sure about that; it may very well give you many reasons to drink." Since Arach, Nalani, and their children's numerous visits, Sage had not mentioned a word of Christian to them, as he had promised. Kya was thinking she might have to break her promise to him at that moment.

"Kya," both Sage and Katana said her name with a certain inflection that told her to back off. She sighed. While she hated not telling Arach, Nalani, or their kids, she knew that she did not want to be the one to break it to them. Especially with Camilla and Christian looking the way they did.

Camilla smiled, oblivious to whatever was going on between the three older teenagers. "Hey, guys. This is Christian. Christian, this is...--"

"We've already met, actually," remarked Christian, cutting her off. His eyes settled on Caleb. "Well, except for him."

Caleb nodded. "I'm Caleb; Camilla's--"

"Twin," finished Christian, also cutting him off. The color drained from his face. His eyes settled on Kya's first, then Sage's, and finally Katana's. His expression had quickly changed from that of happiness to that of horror, but mostly anger.

Camilla's expression became that of shock, as did Caleb's. Katana bit her lip and reached out to Christian before anyone else could say anything. He stepped out of her reach. Christian turned to Camilla and managed a forced smile. "I'm glad to have met you, Camilla, but I really should be going. See you around." Before anyone said anything, he took off, not running but walking with great strides.

When Camilla turned toward Sage, Kya, and Katana her face was in a glower. "What happened? What do you know? How does he know Caleb is my twin?"

"The resemblance?" murmured Katana weakly at the same time as Caleb strode up to Camilla with an angry expression upon his face.

"Why didn't you tell him that you had a twin?"

Sage could tell by Camilla's wide eyes and open mouth that she found it a flabbergasting question, and he couldn't help but agree. "Because, Cal, I was a little more preoccupied with thanking him for getting the creeps off of me and telling him about _me_."

"What creeps?" demanded Kya as her hands balled into fists. She and Katana had been playing the part of Camilla and Caleb's older sisters since their first (second, in Caleb's case) visit.

Caleb scowled. "Aren't I part of you?"

Camilla nodded earnestly and took his hands in hers. "Of course you are, but..."

"Just not an _important _part," finished Caleb with a curt nod. "Noted. See you at home." He turned on his heel and headed in the same direction as Christian.

Although she was angry enough to scream, Camilla did not; it wasn't in her nature. She gripped her hands into fists with her nails biting into her palms until she was sure they broke skin. Katana recognized the gesture, as Kya did it on the occasion, and pulled Camilla's arms forward, hindering her from doing any more damage. When Camilla stopped, Katana glanced at Sage with a fierce glare. "New plan. Kya and I drink, and you explain to Camilla what you were supposed to explain a year ago." Squeezing Camilla's hands briefly, affectionately, Katana took Kya's arm and the two of them strode into the bar.

When Sage was left alone with Camilla, he ran his hand through his hair. "Okay, alright. Let's go get some Sky Sugar Ice Cream; you're going to need it to hear this." Sage put a hand on her back and gently pushed her in the direction opposite of where Christian and Caleb had gone, in the direction of the beach.

**XxX**

Christian marched up the stairs, ignoring the pleas of his aunt to tell her what was wrong. When he reached his room, the room on the right at the end of the long hallway, he slammed the door behind him and locked it. Camilla. And Caleb. Camilla could have been a mere coincidence. Or, at least, that's what he had been hoping for. Once he saw Caleb, he'd had a feeling which had only intensified when Caleb introduced himself. It just wasn't _fair._

Camilla was beautiful, had a great personality, but she was... _the _Camilla. He couldn't be with her. He cursed softly under his breath. When he finally brought his dark eyes up, at the rest of his room, he jumped.

Sitting on his bed was a very unfamiliar man, wearing a long black coat. "Ah, Christian, at last. I have been long awaiting your arrival. In fact, I was afraid that I might have to go speak to your aunt about when you'd be returning..." The man was smiling, but it didn't make Christian feel any better about him. Something within him screamed to get away from this man as fast as he could.

Something else told him that he definitely did not want this man to go speaking with his fragile aunt. Christian raised his chin and put his hand on the doorknob, just in case. "Who are you and how do you know my name?" He was surprised, but pleased, that his voice was fierce and not shaking despite the fact that he was beyond afraid.

The man's smile became more pronounced, showing his teeth. "Oh, Christian, I have known your name for quite some time. In fact, I'd like to say that I've had the honor of getting to know your father." His eyes, the color of a dull copper, seemed to glow in the darkness. He knew that he'd hooked the boy with mention of his father.

"My father?" whispered Christian, taking a few steps toward the man. "You know him,--"

"Xemnas," said the man as he inclined his head. "Yes, yes. The real question is, do you?"

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**A/n: I love leaving cliffhangers; I have no clue why. Just the excitement that it leaves, I suppose. That means that I am leaving you with a cliffhanger for a week. Sorry! x3 I think I have the major points of this story planned out, so I'm pretty excited. Fun fact: I named Charlie while listening to a lot of Hollywood Undead. I started the next chapter, and I might have it finished by... later? Before I leave, hopefully. Please review.**


	4. Your Time Has Come

**Chapter Four:**

Your Time Has Come

**A/n: I am quite surprised, pleased, and proud of myself for getting this one up before I leave. I hope that the feeling is mutual. x3 This chapter is, at the very least, relatively intense. Enjoy and please listen to the song. :3 I like this song for Christian and Camilla, I think.**

**Disclaimer - The OCs and the plot are the only things I own. I don't own Kingdom Hearts. **

_'When I focus, I never miss._

_It starts with a kiss._

_She ricochets, and you don't notice_

_She's in your head, and you just don't notice.'_

**-"Ricochet" by Shiny Toy Guns**

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As Camilla and Sage walked down the beach with lilac-colored ice creams in their hands, Camilla waited with a mixture of dread and excitement for Sage to tell her what was going on. She thought back to what Caleb had said and felt terrible, but she knew there was nothing she could do differently. Caleb was her twin, her best friend, but he wasn't everything. When she introduced herself to someone else, she didn't (anymore, at least) immediately tell them that she had a twin. Not unless she was introducing Caleb to a friend, who usually figured it out before the words left her mouth, anyway.

The Sky Sugar ice cream tasted wonderful. It was completely sweet and tasted a lot like cinnamon with a little nutmeg traceable. "Christian looks familiar, doesn't he?" came Sage's voice, quiet and thoughtful. Camilla's head snapped up and her eyes stared intently at him. Very rarely did Sage sound so grave.

When she realized that he wanted an answer, she nodded. "Yes, yes he does." She couldn't force her voice above a whisper.

The smile that appeared on Sage's lips was bitter. "He should. When I came back to Lomura last year, Katana and Kya told me about Christian. They told me that his mother was Destine. I don't know when Dennis revived Destine and Tiesa, but it was long before me, because Destine was able to come around and find Arach." A horrified expression appeared on Camilla's face.

"No," she whispered, but he continued.

"Maybe Arach was angry with Nalani that night or something; I don't know. But they had sex and, later, Destine had Christian here. She was doing Dennis' bidding, so she couldn't take care of her baby. Christian revived her sister, Maggie, and she's been taking care of Christian ever since. So if Christian looks familiar, it's because he's your half-brother," remarked Sage bitterly. "But this is just what Katana and Kya have told me. I haven't gone to see Maggie -- mostly because she's deathly afraid of me -- and I haven't spoken to Christian, but... Destine herself told them. And Maggie."

Camilla found herself unable to finish the ice cream. As they passed a trash can, she threw her half-finished ice cream away. Her father would _never _cheat on her mother; he'd killed another man just to have her. Then again, he and Destine had quite the past, didn't they? Her hands clenched into fists, her nails biting crescents into her palms. "Why would he? He loves Mom, he _does_," growled Camilla.

Sage put an arm around her shoulder. "Sorry, kiddo. I really am. We should go talk to Arach, I guess." His eyes were staring at the full moon hanging over the water, but he looked back down when he felt her brown eyes burning holes into his face. "Huh?"

"You've known for a year, you said? And we've been here _how _many times? You never told us. Why?" she demanded. Sage felt for her. He heaved a sigh. Had he mentioned something about Christian earlier, he knew that things between him and Camilla would have turned out differently at the bar.

"You're right, you're right. I'm sorry," murmured Sage. "Your parents are going to kill me for all of this. Not saying anything about Christian, giving you a fake ID..."

Camilla nodded slowly. "Yeah, you probably won't be leaving the house alive."

Sage pressed his fingers to his temples. "Which sucks because I was really hoping I wouldn't be going back to hell."

**XxX**

"This. Here it is," breathed Christian as he handed the package over to Xemnas. Xemnas eyed the package with greedy eyes and all but snatched it from Christian's hands. It was wrapped with brown paper and appeared to be in the shape of a jar. A letter was wrapped around the package, but Christian hadn't opened it. When he had come home from school earlier, he had found the package sitting on his aunt's bed. Out of curiosity more than anything else, he'd entered the empty room, looked at the package, noticed it was addressed to him, and took it to his room.

But he'd left before getting the chance to open it. Something had told him to go to Seventeen Forever. He'd met Camilla there, so maybe that was the feeling. He was just so disappointed that she was _the _Camilla, his half-sister. "So she doesn't know about you, hm?" asked Xemnas. The smile had slipped off of his face, and he was eyeing Christian with a concerned expression.

Christian shook his head. "She had no clue who I am. That means my father still doesn't know who I am..." His fingers curled into a fist. "I'll show him what he gets for walking away from my mother."

Xemnas nodded, the smile returning. It had a sinister edge, as did his orange eyes. "Then, why don't you go speak to him? Right now, Christian. He lives on the other side of the alley."

"Xemnas, are you friends with him?" asked Christian in a whisper. To his surprise, Xemnas' rumbled with loud laughter.

"No, my young friend. Your father and I once saw eye to eye, but, even then, he did not much care for me," laughed Xemnas, recalling something that Christian was sure he wouldn't say to him. "You know, your parents are both keyblade wiel--"

"I know," Christian cut him off. "I still can't use a keyblade."

Xemnas clicked his tongue. "What a shame. Perhaps if you had the right people... Your aunt can wield a keyblade," he recalled. "Why hasn't she helped you?"

Christian shrugged meekly. "She said that she doesn't see a need for me to use it."

If possible, the smile on Xemnas' face became even more sinister. "Perhaps I will have a talk with her..." Christian shook his head earnestly.

"No, don't hurt her. She's all the family I have left..."

Xemnas also shook his head. "But, Christian," he began with surprise, "your father is just across the alleyway. All you have to do is speak with him."

"That man may be my father, but he's no replacement for Aunt Maggie. At least she's been taking care of me," spat Christian. "So, please. Leave her alone. I'm going to talk to him, talk to Arach."

"I understand," replied Xemnas with a small nod. "But I likely should not go with you. He won't hesitate to kill me if I come near him and his family. I'll be back soon enough, Christian. Perhaps you would like to come with me, get out of this place?" He raised an eyebrow.

Again, Christian shook his head. "I like it here, with Aunt Maggie. But thanks. It was, uh, nice meeting you." He turned away from Xemnas, opened the door, and headed downstairs. Xemnas exited behind him, but not too close so the boy wouldn't notice him. "I'll be back soon, Aunt Maggs. Be back soon." The woman didn't protest, and Xemnas heard the door open and close as she heaved a sigh.

Xemnas grinned widely as he descended the stairs, his silver hair thrown carelessly over her shoulders. A woman of average height with relatively long platinum blond hair was standing over the kitchen sink, scrubbing dishes. "Maggie, Maggie. Last I heard of you, Arach and Nalani had just painted your blood all over my old kitchen. It wasn't very easy to clean off, either, by the way."

Eyes the color of purest water widened as Maggie stopped washing the dishes and slowly turned toward the doorway of the kitchen. Her lips trembled as she backed against the sink as far as she could. Xemnas chuckled. "Keyblade wielders really do seem to be chosen at random, don't they? You have no courage whatsoever." His words served as a good reminder as a light flashed in her right hand. A long, yellow keyblade with its hilt in the shape of a sun was clenched in her hand.

"Get out of here, Nobody," she hissed. "You're not wanted here."

Xemnas chuckled. "Well, sure I am. I am simply shedding the truth on your nephew. Shedding light on him, as things would have it. And how ironic is it that I would be the one shedding light on him instead of it being you?" he added, eyeing her keyblade. "You can make this easy for me, Maggie, you really can."

Maggie's expression twisted into one of hate. "Stay away from Christian."

"It's too late; I've already been to see him. Convinced him to see his father, as things would have it," remarked Xemnas with a wide grin. Maggie's mouth dropped open. "Ah, and you should be a bit kinder to me when addressing me. I have not been a Nobody since before you were killed. Speaking of," he eyed her aged body, the lines in her face, the wrinkles already beginning to form. "The years have not been kind to you, but I happened to notice that Destine and Tiesa looked just as young as ever..."

"That's because they drank from the devil's cup. They used the water that served as Dennis' fountain of youth, but I would never use it. I would never bathe in the water made from the sacrifice of Luces," growled Maggie, making it obvious that she still considered herself a light wielder. The thought made Xemnas chuckle.

"A light wielder taking care of that child, that Christian. Now _that _is laughable."

Maggie raised her chin a few inches. "What exactly does that mean?"

"You know what it means," replied Xemnas, his smile slipping away, and his eyes boring into hers. "Now, then. You convince Christian that you no longer want him around. You have not the time or patience to take care of a teenager. Then, he will finally take me up on my offer."

"He can't even use a keyblade. Please, Xemnas. Just leave him alone," murmured Maggie weakly as she dropped her keyblade to her side. "He can't do anything for you."

Xemnas nodded his head lightly. "That may be true, but I certainly don't want to be on the opposite side of him when his power finally surfaces. When that happens, I have a feeling that everyone will be in great danger. You will likely be the first person to go." The cruel smile returned to his face. "But, for the time being, I will go. I got what I came for. Take care of yourself, Maggie. I have a feeling that we will be seeing each other again soon."

A portal appeared behind him, and he slowly walked back into it, his eyes never leaving hers. When at last he was gone, Maggie heaved a sigh of relief and allowed her keyblade to disappear in a brilliant flash. Holding her treasured weapon, her anchor for so long, had brought a million memories back to the surface. She eyed the kitchen nervously, picturing her blood painting every inch of it, before leaving quickly. Most of the memories were not very pleasant.

**XxxxxX**

"Good news, I'm hoping, Xemnas?" asked the blue-haired man, barely looking up from the book that he was reading. He was sitting on a chair, looking mostly indifferent, and the other silver-haired man was no where to be found.

Xemnas inclined his head ever so slightly, knowing the other man could see him with his peripheral vision. "Indeed. Where is Farkas?"

There was a small shrug from the silver-haired man. "I am not his keeper, Xemnas. But, fear not. I'm sure all he's doing is chasing new tail in the town."

"Good enough for us, I suppose. The less people in the town, the better," murmured Xemnas as he sat opposite the other man.

An amused smile appeared on the other man's lips. "Yes, the townspeople have already begun to spin tales of werewolves. Not that they are wrong, of course."

Xemnas couldn't fight back his own grin. "Anyway, Saïx, I have the answers that we've been seeking."

"Really?" asked Saïx with a raised eyebrow, looking up from the book at last. "Where did you go, the same place you've been going to for quite some time?"

"Correct, Saïx. Lomura Kai." At this, Saïx slammed the book shut with an audible snap.

"Lomura Kai? Home of the ex-dark wielders? Well, mostly," amended Saïx under his breath. "Aren't Nalani, Arach, and their children there?"

Xemnas nodded but raised an index finger. "They aren't the only children there." Saïx inhaled sharply but said nothing. "And I got this," Xemnas brandished the package, "from that child. The instructions to using the Two-Hearted Princess' heart are here."

"Why would a child have that?" inquired Saïx.

"Because the sender of the package knew that we would need it," answered Xemnas with a grin. "So, shall we get to work?" Saïx dropped the book on the chair as he stood up.

"I thought you would never ask."

**XxX**

In comparison to the Soundless Prison in the Castle That Never Was, the dungeon in Xemnas and Saïx's new castle was dreadful. The cells were pitch black, there were few windows (none being in the cells), and it was so dark that torches needed to be lit in order for one to find their path through it. People would surely go mad in the dungeons, but it wasn't something that Xemnas and Saïx had to worry about. For all intents and purposes, Stefa was no longer in the physical world. Her mind was locked away in the Realm of Darkness.

All they needed was her heart. After that, her body would disappear. "That witch has been wrong in the past," pointed out Saïx. "So I suppose she was not necessary for this, after all."

Xemnas nodded. "You're referring to Stefa's body?" At Saïx's nod, he continued, "That's right. Maleficent thought that the Princess' body would remain in this realm once she lost her heart, but we know better. Had she been right, then there would be no Reixka."

"That witch got what she deserved for thinking that she knew everything. In truth, all she ever was is a pawn," declared Saïx with a cruel grin as they reached a cell at the very end of the hallway. They turned toward the cell and were unsurprised to find the woman sitting in the back. Her eyes were glassy and black, much resembling the mirror necklace that she had once worn. The dark hair almost made it impossible to find her head in the sea of darkness, at first.

The cell door swung open with a squeak, but there was no reaction out of Stefa, which was not unusual. Xemnas grabbed her and slung her body over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. "It is time. Now, we only need one more thing..."

Saïx pursed his lips somewhat. "Which means that we need someone to wield it... That boy. We need him," he realized.

"Well, of course. No other keyblade wielder would do this, particularly not for us. I wonder if it will go to him once his potential is awakened...?"

"I refuse to wait that long. If we can summon a Heartless to take her heart, then we can take the heart and hone it..." Saïx trailed off.

Xemnas sighed. "Risky, but it's worth a try, I suppose." He set Stefa's body back down and snapped. A Shadow rose from the floor almost immediately, and ran toward Stefa faster than Xemnas or Saïx could blink. It lusted for the darkness in her, no doubt. "I had almost forgotten that there are certain ups to having a keyblade wielder on our side, but this does well enough."

The completely darkened heart, a broken gray line still visible through the taint, floated out of Stefa's chest. Xemnas snatched it quickly and turned toward Saïx. "Now, we go through with the plan."

**XxxxxX**

The doorbell rang, and Caleb immediately ran for it, being the closest. As he made his way across the foyer, he crushed a millipede that was crawling across the black and white tiled floor. When Caleb swung open the door, his indifferent expression immediately turned sour. "Christian, right?" he mumbled with obvious distaste.

Christian raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. They stood there for a good few minutes. "Are you going to let me in, or...?"

"How did you know where Camilla lives? She mentioned _that _to you before mentioning that she had a twin? Geez. Did she tell you that she has any family?"

"She did, as a matter of fact. She mentioned having parents, two brothers, and a baby sister. We didn't get into particulars. I mentioned having an aunt, a dead mother, and a deadbeat father. Speaking of, can I see him?" asked Christian, an expression that Caleb couldn't quite place clouding over the other boy's brown eyes.

Caleb's mouth fell open a little. "Do you mean to tell me that your--?"

"Caleb, I am your half-brother. Now, let me in before I have to punt you," threatened Christian, but Caleb hardly looked intimidated. Devotion-Desire **(A/n: That was hard to track down) **appeared in his hand.

"_Caleb_," a woman's voice growled in warning from just behind him. Caleb closed his eyes and allowed his keyblade to disappear as Nalani came behind him. "Threatening someone with your keyblade? Really?"

"I hope you mean the weapon," called another voice as Arach joined them. "Oh. Who's this?"

Years of hearing stories about the man and seeing many pictures alerted Christian to who he was immediately. "Oh, just your son, you know."

"Son?" asked Arach, blinking. "No, no, no." He grasped Caleb's shoulders with his hands. "You see this one, this threatening, evil kid? Yeah, he's mine." Arach took baby Naomi out of Nalani's arms. "This cute little baby? She's mine. The tall kid with black hair, currently in the Radiant Garden with plans to come here and join me on a drinking binge? That's mine. And, that one. That cute one with the brown hair and the pleasant disposition? She's mine." Arach was pointing at Camilla, who was coming up behind Christian with Sage beside her. "You, kid? You're not mine. Never seen you in my life."

Christian's hands balled into fists. "That's because you refused to come see me after my mother had me. Because of _her_," he pointed at Nalani as if she were the devil.

Nalani's eyes narrowed. "And who, exactly, is your mother?"

"Destine. That was her name, but I think you know what happened to her," snarled Christian. Arach smiled cooly. "I may have helped, in part, but the one who landed the final blow was Holly." Nalani elbowed him, while Sage and Camilla sent withering glares his way. "And I love her for it," he added. "So your crazy-ass mother convinced you that you're my kid? Not possible. You must be around Camilla and Caleb's age, right?" Christian nodded. "Yep, definitely not possible. Destine and I may have rocked the boat back in the day -- because the more I drank, the more attractive she became, among other things -- but I never cheated on Nalani. I killed a dude to be with her. Why the fuck would I cheat on her?" His eyes were narrowed, and his hands were shaking somewhat. His attitude had gone from joking to beyond pissed in a matter of minutes.

"Who knows?" replied Christian. "All I know is that you're my father."

"And where, kid, is your proof?" shot back Arach, raising his eyebrows. "Come on. I need _proof_. A blood test, maybe? I'd do that. I'm no Dennis, and I'm no Quince." Christian had no clue what that meant and didn't ask. All he knew was that he wasn't about to let Arach get away with slandering his mother's good name and denying being his father.

Anger latched onto Christian with an iron grip. "You're a liar," he hissed. He could feel something engulfing him, but he had no clue what it was. When something appeared in his left hand, and he heard and felt the others move away from him, he reopened his eyes. Some large, weird-shaped weapon that Christian recognized as a keyblade was in it.

Before anyone else could say another word, Christian bolted toward the gate, forcing Sage and Camilla to separate. Camilla and Sage called out to him, but he ignored them, ignored everything until he got back home. Sweat was beading on his forehead when he entered the house and slid against the door.

**XxxxxX**

A large black labrador walked too many feet ahead of Kiera, dragging her along instead of walking nicely at her heels. She tried to tug his black leash, but he was much stronger than her. "Midnight, _heel_," ordered Kiera although she knew that her dog would continue to happily walk ahead. Walking almost right beside him was a smaller, medium-sized dog, a cocker spaniel with large paws that dug in the snow. "Misti, heel!" Both dogs ignored her as if she were some annoying little gnat that could not bother them. Misti wasn't her dog: she was Camilla's and the rest of her family's. Since they were gone, and they weren't able to bring her with Naomi, Nalani had kindly asked her to take care of her while they were gone.

It was another, at the very least, decent excuse for why she couldn't leave Jewel's Grove. Something moved a few feet ahead, in the bushes. The quiet winter air filled with the sound of their loud barks seconds before they pulled ahead, freeing their leashes from her hands. "Damn it all!" cursed Kiera as the dogs took off across the street and bounded into the bushes. Kiera was hot on their heels and jumped with her hands outstretched toward Misti's green leash. Her hands seized the loop, and when she looked up, she found a black body right in front of hers.

At first, she thought it was Misti's. Until she realized that the creature was staring at her with eyes the shape size and color of neon yellow tennis balls. Kiera froze and Misti pulled her leash free of Kiera's grip again as she and Midnight attacked whatever it was in the bushes. She had a bad feeling that what was inside the bushes was the same thing that was standing in front of her. The Shadow scratched her with its large claws, and Kiera finally reacted, pushing herself away from the Heartless as blood dripped down her face.

The time had finally come... too bad she had to be alone when it happened.

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**A/n: And Stefa's whereabouts are finally known! :D Well, her body, at the very least. I have some pretty good ideas for this story, and I'm actually bringing the notes I already have with me across the country so that I can formulate new chapters. I am such a dork. xDD' Just one thing I want you guys to think of: Really nothing in this story is what it seems. Be suspicious, perhaps, of even the smallest thing. Just some advice. ;D Anyway, I hope to have a billion reviews when I get back. See you all in about a week! Definitely review. ;3**


	5. Where You Belong

**Chapter Five:**  
Where You Belong

**A/n: I know this is sorta dragging along slowly, but I'm going to kick things up a bit, now, I swear. :D Sorry for how long it's taken to update, by the way. As always, please listen to the song and enjoy the chapter. This song is a Christian/Camilla one. Actually, Christian to Camilla, so the lyrics would be slightly different.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_'And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town,_

_I haven't seen it in a while since she brought you down._

_You say you're fine; I know you better than that._

_Hey, whatcha doin' with a girl like that?'_

**-"You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift**

**

* * *

**Things had somehow managed to go from bad to worse in a matter of a couple minutes. Kiera suddenly found herself absolutely surrounded by Shadows with Misti and Midnight sitting behind her, barking and snarling dangerously at the Heartless. She destroyed a couple with Essence of the Heart and knocked a few more away from her. More Shadows appeared from the ground to take their places. "For the _love _of..."

A bright white light touched down in front of her, destroying some Heartless upon impact, before proceeding to attack more with a keyblade. Kiera released a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. At first, she had half-expected to see Maureen, Ryley's mother, returning to Jewel's Grove once more just to help her out. But, she supposed, the problem wasn't severe enough for that. Maureen would probably never return, anyway. The figure that had appeared from seemingly no where turned around and shouldered her keyblade. She looked just as Kiera remembered her with her medium-length brown hair with bangs that obscured her left eye. It _was _winter in Jewel's Grove, so Kiera was quite relieved that the girl was wearing a long white coat over her shorts and tank top.

"Laine... I thought that you..." Kiera trailed off and shook her head. She wasn't very sure _what _she had thought. After saving her and bringing back Ryley, if only for a moment, at that dreadful carnival, Laine had only made one last appearance on the island. Her light attack had failed to injure Dennis, succeeding in injuring herself, and she had disappeared after that. She hadn't seen head nor tail of the Luce for over a year. "What's going on?"

A giggle escaped Laine's lips. "I never really disappeared, you know. Once I knew Cane was immune to such small amounts of light with all of the darkness around him, I knew I had to do something else. You remember that bright, white light that fell upon the world after Cane blew everyone off the island?" Kiera nodded in response. How could she forget the way the sky had turned literally white, the water had become a nice aquamarine, and everyone had been able to walk on the water. "I sacrificed myself, fused my body with the heart of Jewel's Grove, in order to give you guys the upper hand."

Kiera's mouth fell open in a rather comical fashion. "You... you did all that?"

Laine nodded. "And the reason I'm back is because I was kicked out by some weird force. Judging by that and the amount of Heartless, I think something big is going on." Her eyes became serious and held Kiera's seafoam ones. "I think you and Ryley need to get out of here."

**XxxxxX**

"A keyblade," answered Maggie slowly, her eyes frightened. "But not your average, run of the mill one. I don't know why you have it. It's not even exactly considered a true keyblade."

Christian blinked and stared at his aunt before examining the weapon in his hand. The weapon was relatively short and had a red guard with a bar of yellow right at the bottom and top of the hilt. The teeth were jagged and formed an incomplete heart. "So, I get my first keyblade and it's _this_?" he demanded, his anger flaring. "What gives?"

Maggie smiled sympathetically, or at least she tried. She still appeared overly concerned at seeing it. **(A/n: And this is where I confirm that the keyblade is the Dark Keyblade from KH1) **"I know you've had a long day. Why don't you go on to bed?"

To her surprise, he nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'm tired. See you in the morning, Aunt Maggs. Uh... how do I get rid of this thing?"

"Just let go," she replied as she finally settled herself in a chair at the dining room table. Christian did as he was told and the Dark Keyblade disappeared. He waved goodnight to her and disappeared up the stairs, leaving Maggie to her thoughts. She stared blankly across the table, at the opposite wall. Maggie had trusted Destine, her sister, one-hundred percent when she had said that Arach was Christian's father. She _had_.

But Maggie knew the kind of chemistry that Nalani and Arach had; in fact, she was also quite aware that she had a huge hand in getting them together. How macabre, she thought with a grimace. If Christian was many years older and had maybe been conceived back when Arach and Destine had a spark of some relationship, then things would have made more sense. Arach being a father to sixteen or so year old Christian? Not possible.

Destine was a liar, then.

But Maggie still had no clue who the boy's father could be. She heaved a sigh before resting her head in her hands.

**XxxxxX**

"You're pulling me away from hanging out with my friends, like my mother or something. Really?" Ryley, obviously annoyed, asked of Kiera, who was standing outside with only Misti's leash in hand. "Where's Midnight?"

Kiera frowned somewhat. "Well, if you thought that I'm making up everything, then simply look in the yard, darling brother, and tell me what you see." Ryley sent her a withering glare when she used the correct title for him. Brother. They both shied away from the word. She moved aside as Ryley stepped onto the snowy walkway with, she noticed with distaste, only socks. He really didn't believe her. She could have kicked a puppy. Instead, Kiera bent over somewhat and scratched behind Misti's ear.

Ryley took a few steps forward and saw a certain brunette girl throwing a stick to Midnight who slid in the snow in his rush to fetch it. "_Laine_?" he asked with more surprise than Kiera thought was necessary.

"Told you. Now, can we go? We have to, you know, get word around. And stuff."

He turned towards her but didn't apologize. Kiera felt extremely annoyed. "How are we going to get out of here? And shouldn't we call dad?"

Kiera tapped her foot as she thought. "Well, I somehow don't think that he'll exactly let me leave Jewel's Grove since I'm a princess and all, and he's, you know, paranoid that someone will kidnap me. And, for the other thing, a _ship_, of course. So, gather your things. It's time for a road trip!"

Ryley pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just wanted to have a fun night after a hard day of school."

"Hard day? Who's the one that got kicked out of class?" she snorted as he retreated into the house.

"And who's fault was that?" he shot back.

**XxxxxX**

When Christian entered his room, he was surprised to find it semi-illuminated. He couldn't figure out why, at first, until he stepped to his large bay window and noticed the room in the house across from his was illuminated with a bright light, lava lamp, and television. The occupant of the room wasn't actually paying attention to the television. As a matter of fact, she was dancing wildly around the room. The anger and confusion that Christian had been feeling since Caleb first opened the door faded as he watched Camilla moving around her room.

He lowered himself into the seat and grinned, shaking his head somewhat, as he watched her. It wasn't even like she was drunk or even tipsy from drinking at the bar. This must have been something she did often, just for fun. And, finally, he noticed that her window was opened. Christian lifted his and walked across the room to turn on his bright light. His room was fairly nice. He had a daybed with black posts and his walls were a dark blue. Light enough that his room didn't look small but still dark enough for his tastes.

The walls were covered in a few band posters. He had a few photographs, too, but not too many. The fact that he didn't have a decent amount of close friends, ones that were worth having pictures of, might have surprised people. People like, oh say, his friends. When he returned to his window, Camilla was staring at him with bright red cheeks and a mortified expression. "How much did you see?" she demanded.

Her voice carried across the alleyway perfectly. The houses weren't too terribly far apart, nor were they directly on top of each other. "Enough," he replied with a grin.

Camilla pursed her lips. "It's not nice to spy!"

"We're friends, right? Does it really count as spying?" replied Christian with ease. He was still grinning, and Camilla was still looking mortified.

"Well, okay. Even if we're friends, it's still some sort of stalking," she murmured before settling herself down on the royal purple cushions that made up her bay window. "Are you... Are you okay?"

Christian's smile faltered. "Well... it's just that... if your dad wasn't lying, then my mom was. And I've been living and dreaming about a lie my whole life." He swallowed hard. "But, you know... I think I can take it in stride, if he's really not my father."

Camilla blinked and tilted her head slightly to the side. "Why's that?"

She wasn't sure if it was a trick of her eyes or if there was really a blush on Christian's cheeks. "If Arach isn't my father, then I can... have you. Right? Well, maybe. If that's okay." And he proceeded to blab about nothing in particular. Now Camilla_ knew _that was red on his cheeks. When he finally realized what he was doing, Christian sputtered, "You're letting me blab about nothing. Why? Friends don't do that to friends."

"I think it's cute," answered Camilla. "Besides, friends may not do that to friends, but possible love interests do."

As if she had spoken the magic words, her door flew open. His eyes were a little bloodshot, but there was a huge grin on Cashel's lips. "Camilla! 'ey! 'ow you doin'?"

Camilla sighed. She had almost allowed herself to forget about Cashel's presence, again. She had pretty much forgotten about the existence of her boyfriend. So, with an apologetic smile directed at Christian, she drew her curtains and turned to face Cashel. "You're drunk. Go to bed." She swung her legs against the wall beneath the seat, dirtying the pink color with her sneakers.

Her room was completely pink, a color that liked enough but no more than most colors. In fact, the wall that her daybed was pushed against was covered with posters, tickets, and other mementos. Whether she did it because she didn't like the color of her room or because she wanted to showcase her memories was a question that she never answered. She closed her eyes for a minute. Somehow, this room felt more like home to her. In fact, Lomura Kai in general felt more like home. "I'm drunk?" asked Cashel with surprise. And he proceeded to scream like he had just seen the single most horrifying thing from a scary movie.

Caleb, her rescuer, chose that moment to appear and whisk Cashel out of the room. As he pulled the other teenager out of the room, he mouthed, "You owe me" to his twin before saying something about elixirs to Cashel. Camilla grinned and turned back toward her window. She threw her curtains open only to find that Cashel's bamboo shade had been drawn.

**XxxxxX**

When Kiera and Ryley arrived home with Laine and the dogs, Quince still wasn't back. Maybe he had elected to go out to work or something, but it didn't explain why he hadn't bothered to call either of his children to inform him for his lateness. For God's sake, they could starve for all he knew. Not that they would since they were smart enough to operate the microwave and even the oven. Kiera smiled as she thought of the things Kairi would say if she knew. Stuff about Quince needing to be taught how to be a father and wondering how he had managed to get Ryley to the age of sixteen.

"We can't leave the dogs here," was the first thing Kiera declared when they entered the house. Ryley stared at her as if he feared for her sanity.

"Kiera, we can't bring them with," he pointed out.

Kiera raised her chin in defiance. "Why not? Aunt Nalani entrusted Misti to me, and I'm not leaving Midnight to get attacked by Heartless again. No way. Sorry."

"This is why your mother worried so much about you, Kier. If your house was on fire, you wouldn't worry about getting yourself safely out; you'd be too preoccupied with the animals."

"And you would be too preoccupied with your straightener," she remarked, effectively ending the conversation and getting her way.

Ryley shook his head. "So, where's this Gummi Ship?"

"Let me get the keys. Mom 'hid' it behind the cave. Isn't that cute?" she murmured before heading for the stairs. Ryley reached out and caught her arm. She stared at him with surprise as he put his hand to her face.

"You're still bleeding. Hold on." He took his hand from her face, leaving it suddenly cold, and summoned Harmonic Destruction. "Cura." The spell was effective enough to repair the skin and, hopefully, not leave a claw-shaped scar on Kiera's face.

Kiera offered him a brief, grateful smile. "Thank you." Then, she was off, bolting up the stairs.

When they were alone, Laine asked, "Has she been redoing those black streaks?"

Ryley hadn't, in all honesty, thought of it before then. He shook his head. No one had dyed Kiera's hair, at this house or anyone else's. "No... Why are they still there?" Laine didn't answer and the two of them waited in silence for Kiera's return.

**XxX**

They walked the dogs across the snowy field, both dogs attempting to skip around in the snow as Ryley and Kiera pulled on the leashes, and squeezed in the small space between the gate and the cave. Laine waved at them from the entrance to the cave. "You're not coming with?" asked Ryley with surprise and... disappointment.

Laine smiled and shook her head. "Just in case, I think I should stay here."

"Then, _you _could take the dogs..." began Ryley who was quickly silenced by Kiera's upheld hand. They had already settled the issue, and it wasn't up for revoting.

Kiera nodded at Laine. "Hold down the fort for us, then. Oh! Could you talk to Quince for us, then? Tell him we're going to the Radiant Garden. Okay?" Laine told them that she was pleased to do it before waving goodbye. They continued through the small space, big enough for the dogs to squeeze through, and were able to walk side-by-side as they approached a large ship.

The ship made a beeping sound as Kiera unlocked it, then the three of them hurried inside. "Could you try to belt them in so they don't go flying around or something, Ry?" asked Kiera as she settled herself in the pilot's seat and turned the ship on. He did so but not with much enthusiasm.

Once the dogs were, more or less, secured, Ryley collapsed in the artillery seat. He barely had enough time to catch his breath as the ship bolted upwards almost immediately. "Kiera, do you need a license to drive this thing?"

"Huh. I never thought about it," admitted Kiera. "But our parents never got licenses or anything. And I'm sure there's not any sort of intergalactic police, right?" He shrugged somewhat before shooting at some Heartless ships, ever present as ever, hanging in the distance. "If we get any grief, you could always shoot at them."

Ryley snorted. "Then, we would probably go to intergalactic jail, which would only be made worse by the fact that our parents wouldn't know where to find us."

Kiera waved him off. "I'm sure that it doesn't happen, Ryley. Don't worry about it." Once they were a few miles away from Jewel's Grove, another ship began to tail them. "No. No fucking way. You've got to be fucking _kidding _me."

"What?" asked Ryley, glancing at one of the screens that allowed them to see the view behind them. A ship, appearing the same as the police cars in Jewel's Grove but in... ship form, was following them. The red and blue lights on top of it were glowing and a siren was whining. Ryley laughed and shook his head. "I hate life."

"And I'm increasing our speed. We might not make it to the Radiant Garden after all," she muttered before hitting the gas. The ship surged forward and Kiera was thankful she'd had Ryley constrict the dogs. "Hey. A boat. There's a boat! We're landing on that boat."

Ryley shook his head. "Landing on a boat hanging in the middle of space? That doesn't seem like the smartest thing, Kier."

"Well, Ry, I don't want to go to intergalactic prison. We're _landing _on that boat."

**XxxxxX**

"I almost wish we were still in Jewel's Grove," huffed Anali as she narrowly avoided the striking claws of a Neoshadow. She, Reixka, and Axel had only managed to touchdown in the Sandlot before getting attacked by a mob of Heartless.

Reixka shook her head and pivoted, her long braid swinging behind her as she moved. "If there are this many Heartless in Twilight Town, then I'm not sure if Jewel's Grove escaped getting even more."

"That's because Jewel's Grove is filled with a ridiculous amount of darkness," a new voice pointed out. "But that went away once Cane was killed. How strange." The voice was undeniably feminine and soft.

Axel looked towards one of the entrances to the Sandlot and found three people, wielding keyblades, standing there. One of them was a fairly tall man with honeycomb blond hair spiked in a slightly lethal way. Standing beside him was a slightly shorter woman with long blond hair carelessly tossed over one shoulder wearing a white sun dress. The third was a girl that Anali recognized easily enough. Only not.

The girl had perfectly straightened medium-length, pale blond hair that had been cut so that it reached a little past her chin now. Her blue eyes had a harder edge than Anali recalled, but they had yet to lose their confidence. A keyblade Anali recognized as Tristan's, the girl's late twin brother, was in her hand.

The parents and their daughter surged forward and helped clear the Sandlot of a better percentage of the Heartless. "Roxas, Naminé. Do you know what's going on?" asked Reixka as she worked at destroying a particularly evasive Shadow.

"Not a clue," replied Roxas honestly.

"Deirdre?" questioned Anali.

"Farkas, Saïx, and Xemnas probably did something," she murmured, shrugging her shoulders somewhat. "Who knows what."

The girl certainly was a bit more apathetic than Anali called. More than a bit, actually. She wanted to shake her and ask her what happened to her cheery disposition, but she knew. The cheeriness had died with her twin brother.

* * *

**A/n: That was a happy note to end on! Ryley and Kiera fight like an old married couple. x3 Uhh, nothing too much to say. Please review? I'll throw another update out there once I get the chance. **


	6. Save Me Now

**Chapter Five:  
**Save Me Now

**A/n: I apologize for taking so long in updating. School has been much more difficult than I expected, and I've been quite busy aside from that. Dx' But I'll try to update more frequently, I swear. Fanfiction was effing up, so while this one was an ordeal to get it up, my stubbornness made it happen. :D Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_'It's just another war,  
Just another family torn. (Falling from my faith today.)  
Just a step from the edge,  
Just another day in the world we live.'_**  
-"Hero" by Skillet**

**

* * *

**Although Ryley and Kiera had, admittedly, seen many strange things in their lifetimes, a boat floating in the middle of space, or whatever the space between worlds was, was just about number one on their lists. The boat was large and made of dark brown wood. Its masts were absolutely huge and made of a creme-colored cloth. Still, neither of them could figure out how the boat was floating. Then again, they had heard from Riku about Monstro, a giant whale that had been floating in the middle of the galaxy, so perhaps anything was possible. Or perhaps the fact that the ship was floating was a very bad sign.

Nonetheless, they left the ship near the boat and climbed aboard. The minute they were on the deck, they found themselves face to face with the tip of a longsword, as well as the barrels of two pistols. "Whoa!" cried Ryley as he stepped between the weapons and Kiera. "What the hell's the idea?"

"You be trespassin' on my ship, boy," growled the man wielding the pistols. He wore a black hat with a wide brim over fairly messy, medium-length mousse-colored hair. He had a small beard and mustache and appeared relatively lethal. Aside from the fact that he was about to gun down two teenagers.

The man's companion, a bit younger than his friend, wore a red bandana over his messy dreadlock and braided brown hair. Tied at the end of one braid was a few charms of sorts and, on the other, was a long brown feather. He had a small goatee and a mustache and managed to look much friendlier than his friend, even though he was pointing a sword at them. The man held up an index finger in his friend's direction as he examined Kiera and Ryley. "Don't shoot, Barbossa, savvy?"

_Barbossa?_ The name ricocheted throughout both their minds as they exchanged a glance. Barbossa, Dennis had mentioned Barbossa, of Port Royal, when he had explained their parents' adventures. With a huff and a glare directed at the other pirate, he demanded, "And why shouldn't I shoot these two trespassers, Jack?"

"Because, I happen to know one of 'em," boasted Jack as he squinted at the keyblade wielders. "Although the boy does look familiar..."

Kiera's eyebrows shot up. She had never, ever, met Captain Jack Sparrow or Barbossa in her life, that much she was sure of. She held up her hands as she shook her head. "Oh, no. We've never met before."

Jack took a few steps forward, stepping around Ryley to get a better look at her hair. "Ah, afraid I was mistaken. The Princess didn't have eyes like those, but that hair... I would recognize it anywhere." He narrowed his eyes further. "You sure you're not Keira?"

"Well, I am Kiera, but I'm not Stefa," she corrected. "You mean my mom, Stefa."

He snapped. "Ah, yes! That was 'er name, the second time, of course..." Ryley looked deeply puzzled, but Kiera understood perfectly; she had read in one of her mother's diary entries about the name change.

"Well, if either of ye thought that you could hide on the Pearl, you've got another thing coming," informed Barbossa as he placed one pistol back in its holster while the other remained in his hand.

Kiera narrowed her eyes. "I'm Kiera, and this is Ryley. Now, as the daughter of Stefa -- who seemed to like both of you a whole hell of a lot -- I demand that you let us stay on this ship, tell us why you're out here in the first place, and tell us what you know about the Heartless problem our world was experiencing when we left."

Ryley glanced at her with furrowed eyebrows. He didn't need to speak the words; she knew what he was thinking: _'How do you know how your mother felt about these two pirates?'_ The answer was simple enough: the amount of stories she had been told about Port Royal and all of the pirates. "If that's not good enough for you," he began, "then how about a parley?"

Jack seemed excited by the prospect of a parley, but Barbossa waved Ryley off. "That won't be necessary, lad. I suppose, maybe, I am indebted to the Princess. Ye can stay on here for a while, and we'll tell ye what we know." Although Ryley grinned, Kiera was not misled so easily. She knew that there was a catch. "In return, ye can swab the deck."

"I thought you said that you owed Stefa," protested Ryley.

Barbossa shrugged lamely. "I just recalled that I saved her from certain death."

Kiera, her lips pursed, nodded. "Fine. Just tell us what you know."

"It all started when we met up on our way to the Fountain of Youth..." began Barbossa.

**XxxxxX**

Kaspar was pleasantly surprised by how easily Tifa and Cloud had taken him into their house, seeing as how most parents usually thought of the boyfriend of their precious daughter to be the spawn of Satan. Unless, of course, only his father reacted in such a way. As he lazed on one of the sofas in the living room (Aerith was still in school), his intergalactic cell phone rang. He lifted the phone in his hand and stared at the image of his younger brother. For a while, Caleb had been trying to reach him, and Kaspar had tried to call back, but neither were able to get into contact with each other. "Kaspar! Finally," grunted the younger boy with a disapproving glare.

He kept his facial expression cool as he stared at Caleb. He stared intensely at him until the other boy blinked and averted his eyes; some things never change. "Hey, I tried to call you back, too," mentioned Kaspar.

"Yeah, sure, tried," came Caleb's dry reply. Kaspar shook his head; it was amazing how similar Camilla and Caleb were and, at the same time, so different.

"Well, is something actually wrong Caleb, or have you been listening to too much Hawthorne Heights?"

Caleb's cheeks turned cherry red. "How did you know about that?"

"The lyrics 'I'm outside of your window with my radio' tend to stick," remarked Kaspar with a grin. "Anyway, is everything alright over there?"

The blush faded from Caleb's cheeks as he shook his head. "No. There's this kid, Christian, who's interested in Camilla--"

"--Which we don't have to worry about because she has Cashel."

Caleb chuckled. "Try reminding her that." Kaspar narrowed his eyes at the fact that another boy was tailing his sister, but nodded for his brother to continue. "And he seems to think Dad's his Dad."

"How old is he?"

"Around mine and Cami's age," answered Caleb.

"Who's his mama?" asked Kaspar with a forced grin. Caleb returned it, however briefly.

"Destine."

Kaspar smacked his forehead. "So Camilla has attracted a crazy? Well, of course Destine would tell this Christian kid that our dad is his; she was obsessed with him. His daddy problems aren't ours."

Caleb slowly nodded. "Yes, they are... Camilla seems to like Christian. A lot."

Kaspar pursed his lips. "But he's our half-brother."

"I thought you said that Destine was a liar?" asked Caleb with a wry smile.

"I change the facts I want if I don't like something, and I'm not the only one," insisted Kaspar with a frown. "She can't be with him."

Caleb raised his eyebrows. "Kiera and Ryley are together. They're half-siblings."

Kaspar waved him off. "It doesn't matter. The two of them are already crazy and fucked up, so they're kids would be insane either way. Besides, this is different. This is..."

"Camilla," finished Caleb with a nod. "I know. And it doesn't help that she, Christian, and Cashel all have fake IDs, particularly Cashel. He's been hitting the clubs and bars, and wandering around drunk... She'll never want to stay with him if he's always acting like a prick."

"But he is a prick," pointed out Kaspar.

"We're biased," Caleb had to remind him. Kaspar shrugged. There was no arguing with that.

"Well, what else? Is there anything else wrong over there?" asked Kaspar as he slowly sat himself up.

Caleb nodded. "I noticed a lot of Heartless. I think we're going to have to seal the keyhole... Which reminds me! Christian's a keyblade wielder. But there's something about his keyblade... Mom and Dad weren't very happy to see it."

"Give me a description," requested Kaspar; Caleb described the Dark Keyblade. "And leave the keyhole to Dad. He knows where it is. Just relax while you're there and watch out for Camilla... Try to get Cashel to get Camilla to fall back in love with him, or something. Alright? As for the Heartless... Don't worry about them. I'm sure they're only appearing because Saïx and Xemnas are still out there, and they're probably trying to send Heartless to worlds that are unsealed."

Caleb nodded although it was obvious he was not totally convinced. "Alright. When are you coming here?"

"Soon," promised Kaspar. The screen clicked and turned black, leaving him on his own once more. A chill ran up his spine as he leaned forward on the couch a bit. Just a few heartbeats later, he heard the pounding of feet on a staircase. Someone -- a woman, he realized -- uttered a battle cry. Kaspar whirled around in his spot and found a dark brunette, breathing a little heavily, standing directly behind him. "What the...? Is something wrong?"

The woman was old enough to be his mother, appropriate enough as he was the mother of his girlfriend. Her hair was a deep brown that reached just below her shoulder blades, and her eyes were a piercing brown that almost resembled red in some lighting. Her hair was pushed behind her ears for the most part, revealing a set of white teardrop earrings. Currently, her hair was all over the place, slightly obscuring her face. She blew her bangs out of her face and replied, if not a little dryly, "Stopping a Heartless from stealing your precious little heart."

"Heartless can't get inside of houses," insisted Kaspar.

Her thin brown eyebrows shot up her forehead. "Tell that to the one that almost took your heart. Besides, haven't you ever paid attention to some of the stories you've been told?" Kaspar beamed in response, and Tifa Strife groaned. "You are, without a doubt, Nalani's son." Kaspar kept the grin on his face. "Anyway, there are a ton of Heartless here from what I could tell. I looked out my window and noticed that they're, well..." She broke off, looking troubled. "We have to stop them and find their source."

Kaspar became seriously quickly and summoned Oro Treasure. "At least the Heartless can't purge this place into darkness."

**XxxxxX**

Holly had decided that the paopu fruit was a terrible idea, so she had cast the wicked fruit into the ocean on her way back to the main island. She was satisfied where she was with Riku at the moment. There was no need to ruin anything by bringing up unpleasant memories. As nighttime fell upon Destiny Islands, Holly slowly closed the door to Misao's room and padded down the hallway. The wooden flooring beneath her bare feet creaked. She stopped halfway down the hall in order to examine herself in the mirror. Holly pushed a lock of her bangs behind her ear as her brown eyes examined the girl within the confines of the glass. She was dressed in a red tanktop and pair of grey sweatpants.

That was why it was nice to be with Riku: he didn't expect her to be anything she wasn't. He didn't want her to cake on makeup or dress up in sexy clothing. It was amazing that someone as hot as him was so easily accepting.

She continued onward and, unsurprisingly, she found the screen door to the porch open but, when she passed through the doorway, all she found was a mug of some sort sitting on the table. Riku was no where in sight. A growling drew Holly's eyes from the mug to the white blur of an American Eskimo Dog, a new addition to their family. Misao, Bryce, Kiera -- and Holly had vehemently agreed -- to name the dog Lux. Whether it was because of the meaning of the name or (what Holly thought of first) a shortened name for Luxord, no one was really sure. The dog had his pointy ears flattened against his head with his lips pulled above his teeth.

The jewel-like keyblade of Diamond Sky flashed into Holly's hand as she started into the yard. As she stepped onto the grass, she felt something twitch beneath her foot. Instead of moving it, she pointed her keyblade downward and stared down at the Shadow trapped beneath her foot. With her free hand, Holly summoned an orb of blue and black fire that illuminated a few feet around her. What she had assumed to be the lawn, appearing dark under the night sky, was actually a swarm of Shadows. A chill ran down her spine and bumps ran up and down her skin.

"There... So many," breathed Holly. "Riku!"

A dart of silver flitted across her vision as Riku charged across the yard to take out a Neoshadow, one of the few in the yard. "Don't worry about me. Guard the door for me!" he called to her.

Holly nodded and pressed herself in front of the screen door. She found herself wondering if, maybe, she should warn Sora and Kairi or Laurence and Everett. Then, she reminded herself that they could all take care of themselves. Well, except for Laurence, but that was what Everett was there for. "Riku, what's going on?" asked Holly as she swiped at some nearby Shadows.

Riku shook his head, a movement that was nearly undetected in the darkness. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "But I think this means that Saïx, Xemnas, and Farkas are coming back onto the radar." Holly swallowed hard. That was, by no means, good news. After a little bit over a year, the deadly trio appeared ready to make their move. Given all the time they'd had to plan, Holly was more afraid than she would admit about the outcome.

**XxxxxX**

"This is definitely not the way I was planning on spending the beginning of my winter break," complained Anali between huffs and puffs of breath as she pressed her body against the cool metal wall of the computer room she found herself in. Roxas was seated in a chair before a mass of various flat screens, varying in size although none of them were particularly large. His fingers moved faster than the speed of light as he typed in various access codes in order to contact the Radiant Garden.

Naminé found it amusing that when there was trouble in Twilight Town, they always seemed to call the Radiant Garden first. In most cases, at least. Not including the previous time, when she and Stefa had called King Mickey to alert him of the Princess' awakening first. "Isn't Leon a temporary king, or something like that?" asked Reixka, who was focusing most of her attention on putting her hair back into a braid. Running around and fighting had messed up her hair and, for the moment, she was in desperate need of a distraction.

"Not exactly," replied Roxas without looking back at her. "He's part of that large group now, remember? The leader, but whatever."

Naminé nodded. "The Radiant Garden committee has formed a senate of sorts," she explained to, mostly, Reixka and Anali. Both of them understood the term easily. "Well, actually... Leon's the only one in it. The rest of them have no interest in politics, although I hear Rikku, Yuna, and Paine are helping the cause a little. It's only temporary, I'm sure. But the people get to vote on the issues, and the 'senate' does their best to come to a consensus."

"Good to know the Radiant Garden isn't falling apart," remarked Axel from where he was perched on the countertop of an unused cabinet.

"Actually, it sort of is," a woman's high-alto voice remarked from the computer screens. Depicted on one of the larger screens was a woman with short dark brown/black hair. Her brown eyes were wide and alert, but she looked different, somehow. Naminé realized it was the absence of the ninja's smile; Yuffie never did not smile. And, when something as important as that was missing, people tended to notice. "Heartless. There are huge amounts of Heartless here."

Roxas took note of the background behind Yuffie, a little messy, but surprisingly quiet. Except for a strange, low hissing noise. Merlin's house was always full of noise... "What is that?" he asked in regards to the hiss.

"The millions of Heartless swarming the Radiant Garden," answered Yuffie as she tightened the ninja headband protecting her forehead. "Anyway, you rang? What can I do you for, Roxas?" Her voice carried the unmistakable tone of forced lightness. This was wrong.

"There are a lot of Heartless here, too," he answered. "Is it like this everywhere?"

Yuffie nodded. "Well, I'm no Cid, but I think so. I checked out the darkness levels of a few worlds, and they're sky high. It's kinda scary. We're doing all we can here, but it's super hard when you don't know what to do. We can't find the source."

"That's because the source isn't coming from inside of the Radiant Garden," mumbled Reixka. "But none of this could be a mere coincidence, right? What, or who, could possibly have the power to send suffocating hordes of Heartless to each world?"

The room fell quiet, aside from the hissing on Yuffie's end, as the answer dawned upon them. "Xemnas, Saïx, and Farkas," growled Axel. "But even they can't be powerful -- or stupid enough -- to tap into that much darkness. I don't even know if it's possible for a human to tap into that much power."

"It's not," agreed Naminé softly. "There's only one place the source could be, then."

The silence did not last so long this time around. In her horribly apathetic voice, Deirdre was the one to speak the name that everyone was thinking about, "Kingdom Hearts."

**XxxxxX**

"Ryley, Kiera!" called a tall man with medium-short chocolate brown hair. He draped his leather jacket over one of the chairs in the dining room as he entered the house. Snow melted into water from his boots to the carpet, and he shivered somewhat. When he received no reply from either teenager, he wondered if the chill was from the cold or something worse.

A voice did answer, then, but it was not one that he recognized fully. It slightly resembled both Kairi and Naminé's voices, only a little more soprano and, thus, musical. "Hi, Quince. Your children left me to here to housesit." The owner of the voice was sitting, almost expectantly, on the loveseat with a smile on her face. She looked like a child awaiting to be rewarded with a cookie.

"...Laine, right?" asked Quince as he slowly took a few steps toward the Luce. Laine smiled in response and nodded enthusiastically. "Did the dog really let you in so easily?" he added weakly.

Laine giggled and shook her head. "Oh, no. The dogs are with Ryley and Kiera."

"Wonderful. So you're the house's watchdog?"

She put an index finger to her lower lip. "I guess you could say that?"

"Good to hear. Now, Ryley and Kiera are where...?"

Laine's smile disappeared and she suddenly became very interested in her feet. "Well, you see, they sort of left... I, actually, advised them to leave."

"Leave the house? Why, did they burn something again?" groaned Quince. "I knew I should have come home earlier, but work was a bitch, and--"

"Hey, what do you do again, Quince?"

At the question, Quince became suddenly very paranoid looking. "Uh. Uh... Ninja. I am a professional ninja. So, where are my darling children?" **(A/n: I figured this chapter was in need of comic relief. x3)**

"They didn't leave the house. Well, they did, but they went a bit farther than that... In fact, you could almost say that they left Jewel's Grove."

"Almost left? What exactly does that mean?"

Laine twiddled her thumbs together. "They left Jewel's Grove."

**XxxxxX**

The surface of the water and the sunrise in the distance appeared distorted by the fog or, maybe, by Christian's new set of mind. He narrowed his eyes at the red, orange, yellow, and pink sky as the sun rose above the water's surface and tightened his grip on the object in his hand. A long, dark gold chain with a key of the same color as well as what looked like a three-dimensional mirror made of diamond on a bronze back was in his hand. It was a necklace, a very attractive one.

For Camilla, he had decided.

Christian wasn't sure how long he had slept last night, but he was quite positive that it had not been for a very long time. Once he had rolled over in bed in order to look at his alarm clock, he had forced himself out of bed. It wasn't that he had anything to do, because he didn't; Christian just didn't think it was a good idea to sit at home and think anymore. Instead, he had roamed around the city, filled only with the druggies coming down from their highs, and had window-shopped.

While passing a thrift shop, Christian had noticed the necklace displayed in the window and, for whatever reason, immediately thought of Camilla. Now he only hoped she would like it. "Wait. What the fuck are you doing?" The words were in Christian's head, but he was unaware that he had spoken them. When he realized the voice was rougher than his, he turned to find Sage observing him with a skeptical expression. "You're not thinking about drowning yourself or something, right? Because Maggie would be mega pissed if you died on my watch."

Christian raised his eyebrows. "I'm glad you're so concerned about my well-being."

Sage clapped him on the back. "Of course I am, Chrissy. Don't get all PMS-y on my ass." Christian grunted something incoherent. "Aw, that's not a very nice thing to say."

"Your mother wasn't very nice last night," noted Christian with a shrug.

Sage raised his eyebrows. "My mother's been dead for quite some time."

"Geez, this is like something out of Final Fantasy X..." **(A/n: If you understand the joke, grab a virtual cookie.)**

"What?" asked Sage.

"Huh?" replied Christian. "Anyway, is there a particular reason you're stalking me so early in the morning?"

Sage frowned. "Hey, I just wanted to make sure you're alright."

"Well, I feel like a bucket of daisies," murmured Christian as he stared back out at the ocean.

"The way you talk, kid, I'm not surprised that Camilla seems to like you," murmured Sage. "So, Arach's not your father. Probably. What do you do now? I guess the smart thing to do would be to get a paternity test."

Christian snorted. "Like hell Arach will do that. Actually, I was going to see Camilla, but I'm not sure I'll be welcomed in that house..."

Sage nodded. "Say no more. I'll fetch the Princess for you. On one condition."

Christian raised an eyebrow to show his interest as he faced Sage. "Which is...?"

"Don't use that keyblade that you got. Every keyblade wielder has his or her own keyblade. That one is... not the same." Sage, for once, seemed nervous. The only thing he ever seemed to be was bored.

Christian narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "Why?"

Sage massaged his temples. "God, you're a nosy little kid, aren't you?"

"I don't look much younger than you," pointed out Christian.

A shrug from Sage. "Looks can be deceiving. At any rate, the keyblade you have -- which is incomplete, by the way -- is created only be the hearts of the Princesses of Heart. If I had to guess, given its similar appearance, then six of them lost their hearts, thus making this keyblade. I don't know what happened, but if you go around using that thing, you'll look suspicious. And you're not. Got it?"

Christian nodded. "Got it. Tell Camilla to meet me at the pier."

Sage two-finger saluted. "Noted." Then, without another word, he walked off in the direction of the city. Sage's words reverberated against his brain as he thought them over and over again.

**XxxxxX**

A certain mouse narrowed his eyes at the screen hanging before him as he massaged his chin with a hand while the other rested against his temples. "Now, look, Your Majesty! This is what appears to be happening to the worlds," a squeaky voice informed King Mickey as a small chipmunk with a small black nose appeared on the screen briefly. His image disappeared as a new image of several different worlds appeared. The worlds slowly, but surely, gained a black and purple aura and, at an even slower pace, began to move closer together.

"The worlds are rejoinin' into one, Chip?" asked the king in his reasonably high, mousey voice.

"Yes, sir!" agreed a squeakier voice of a chipmunk with a large red nose.

Chip and his brother, Dale, reappeared on the screen. "Yes, sir," agreed Chip, if not a little gravely. "We don't know what's causing it yet, but..."

"We're on it, Your Majesty!" chirped Chip.

King Mickey nodded and closed his eyes for a minute. "I have my assumptions, fellas. So, the other worlds are filled with darkness and Heartless as we speak?" The chipmunks nodded.

"Your Majesty, what are we gonna do?" wondered Dale.

The king slowly shook his head. "This time, Dale, the answer won't be so simple. What we're dealing with is, well... Extremely dangerous, to say the least. Can you connect me to the Radiant Garden?"

The chipmunks saluted. "Yes, sir!"

**XxxxxX**

Camilla arrived much sooner than Christian had expected although, admittedly, he was surprised she had shown up at all. She looked just as beautiful as ever, her dark brown hair perfectly straight, wearing a quarter-sleeved brown plaid shirt over a black cami, as well as a pair of light blue skinny jeans. Her brown converse poked at the sand collected on some of the boards, no doubt tracked from the beach-goers that had wanted a better view of the water. He pushed himself away from the corner he had been leaning against and slowly approached her. Christian picked up a foot to avoid stepping on a patch of rotten boards. "Camilla, you came," noted Christian.

She nodded once, looking a little tired, even under her purple eyeliner. "I am," she agreed. "Sorry it took me a while."

"An hour?" asked Christian before shaking his head. "I'm just happy you came." "Say came one more time," requested Camilla with a grin.

"Came," they said in unison. Christian laughed. "God, you're strange. Now, close your eyes."

Camilla's eyebrows shot up her forehead. "And you're calling me strange?" she demanded although she closed her eyes. She listened to his footsteps as they approached her as well as the water crashing against the pier. When his hands moved behind her neck, her breath caught and her muscles locked. But, even when his hands brushed the back of her neck, she didn't cringe. His hands felt nice... soft.

"There," said Christian, pleased before taking a few steps away from her. "Open your eyes."

She did as he told her and automatically looked down. The only reason she had known where to look was because she could feel the coldness of the chain pressing against her skin. She took the mirror and key in her hand and gasped quietly. "It's... Wow. It's beautiful." Camilla brought her vision from the necklace to his dark brown eyes. "Thank you."

Christian grinned. "Let's just call it a... Goodbye present."

"Goodbye?" repeated Camilla, unable to prevent her voice from jumping an octave. She barely knew Christian, yet she was getting excited about him leaving. Then again, they had decided they were friends, hadn't they? "Where are you going?"

"I feel like... I need a new scene, you know?" murmured Christian. "Lomura Kai's just too much sometimes."

Camilla laughed quietly. "So, what, are you telling me that you'd like to go somewhere like my home, Jewel's Grove?"

Christian nodded. "Exactly." His eyes glinted for a moment. "Actually, that would probably be even better if you were be there with me, but... Beggars can't be choosers, right?" He started past her. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, Camilla."

She reached out and caught his arm. "Wait. Are you sure you have to go? Are you even serious? I saw the way the girls looked at you in the bar; you're like a god here." Like a young version of my father, really. "Don't leave. Please."

"I need a change of pace," insisted Christian as he covered her hand with hers. "But I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other soon. Try not to forget about me in the meantime, alright?" He turned around and lightly pressed his lips to her cheek. "You know, a friendship kiss." Before she had the opportunity to react, Christian walked off without so much as a backward glance. When he was out of her view, Camilla put her hand to her cheek. His lips felt like they'd been dripping with acid, acid that was currently burning through her skin.

But it was a good burn, one that made you feel like you were alive.

* * *

**A/n: There may be some messed up formatting in here since I had to go back and edit it on the Document uploader itself, but, from what I can tell, it looks all good. I found this chapter pretty easy and fun to write. :D So I recently decided the song "Billie Jean" by MJ is the perfect song for Arach and Destine. Why? Look up the lyrics. It made me giggle. I'll likely be too busy to update for the next few days, but... please review? Hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
**


	7. Dangerous Love Affair

**Chapter Seven:**  
Dangerous Love Affair

**A/n: So, after a nice sleep over with Lesser, I have even more ideas. And I'm through saying that this story is the final one. When I run out of gas, I'll end the series. In the meantime... xD' But I'm really, really excited for this, and I think you all will be, too.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_'Life's a game, but it's not fair;_

_I break the rules so I don't care._

_So I keep doing my own thing,_

_Walking tall against the rain.'_  
**-"Run This Town" by Jay Z ft. Kanye West and Rihanna**

**

* * *

**Quince tapped his fingers against the windowsill in a broken beat. "Staring outside isn't going to make them come any faster, Quince," Laine gently informed him.

He glanced at her. "That's what she said."

"No, it's not," answered Laine. "Oh, look!" Two forms were making their way up the lawn. Both of them were dressed in long black coats with the hoods pulled up to protect them from the raging snowstorm. Strands of blond hair escaped from the hood of the taller person. A good percentage of the other one's chocolate-colored hair, a woman, was blowing in the wind.

When they reached the door, Quince didn't move. He simply watched with amusement as the woman's hood blew off, and she proceeded to pound on the door. "Quince, if you don't open the door right now, I--" She paused. "Well, I'm running out of threats. Just open the door, you douche!"

"Don't you just love my precious cousin?" He asked Laine as he wrenched open the white-painted oak door. "Oh, hey, thanks for coming. I wasn't sure if you two were going to make it."

The woman narrowed her brown eyes, so similar to his own, dangerously. "Don't push it, Quincey. We couldn't drive because I knew the roads would be bad. Aside from the Heartless, I mean. So we trudged here whilst beating down said Heartless."

"If you had driven, you could have just run them all over," noted Quince.

"And skidded off the road," said the still-hooded man. "Elie and I have become rather fond of living."

Quince shrugged a little as he stepped back to allow Elie and her boyfriend inside. "You two have been respawned enough..."

"So have you," pointed out Elie. "Now, can you explain this whole Heartless-barf-all-over-Jewel's-Grove thing to Demyx and I?" Demyx threw back his hood to reveal golden blond hair in a mullet and antifreeze green eyes.

"I can't, actually. I was hoping Leon and the others could tell us when we go to the Radiant Garden."

"We're going to the Radiant Garden?" asked Elie.

"Quite. Is that okay with you, or did you commit some sort of crime that makes it illegal for you to go back?" wondered Quince.

Demyx blinked. "I see over a year of no Heartless-fighting has done great stuff for you, Quince!" he remarked cheerfully. If looks could kill, Quince's glare would have made Demyx drop dead.

Elie coughed. "Let's get going to Radiant Garden, then. Laine, please tell me you're coming with?"

Laine nodded. "I can't do anything else for this place, I'm sorry to say. Let's just hope for the best."

"I hope all of the keyholes are still okay..." murmured Elie.

Quince inclined his head somewhat. "If they're not, then those worlds are probably already gone."

In a whisper, Demyx said to Elie, "So this is why we never go out to dinner with just Quince."

Elie grinned. "If Stefa were here, he'd be better."

**XxX**

Quince was in a thoroughly bad mood on the drive to the Radiant Garden. The amount of Heartless ships wandering in the space between the worlds had increased tenfold, but Laine had said they would see as much. Radiant Garden. That was where Ryley and Kiera had gone. He gripped the wheel a little tighter as he evaded a horde of Heartless ships and weaved between meteors. With Farkas, Saïx, and Xemnas hiding under the radar for over a year, he had expected the day to come when they would become known once more.

He just hadn't expected it to be with such a big bang. Now the skies of every world were darker, and the ones that were unsealed, likely, had already fallen to the Heartless. When he reached the Radiant Garden, aside from thinking it was a little closer than it originally had, he could tell the world was teeming with Heartless. At one point, the sight would not have only not bothered him, but delighted him. Now, he was sickened and worried about the people below.

Things had changed quite a lot.

"Ryley, Kiera, you two better be okay," he murmured before shifting the ship's gear into a cautious landing.

Elie hit his head. "One of the first signs that you're losing your mind is talking to yourself."

**XxxxxX**

"Remember our wedding?" Arach asked, with a grin, from the doorway of the kitchen. Nalani was standing at the stove, slowing stirring the pasta sitting in the boiling water. He knew that Nalani had been pissed after Christian's visit, but he also knew that she believed him. It didn't stop him from feeling that she was still upset. And he couldn't even begin explaining how none of it was his fault.

If he tried, she would simply stare at him. It would not be too much, just a stare. A simple, simple stare. Those normally adorable brown eyes would darken and make him feel guilty. He had no doubt that if she did it one more time, he would start admitting to a million petty crimes he had committed as a child. Nalani laughed quietly. "How could I forget? You got drunk before the ceremony, took off your jacket, unbuttoned your shirt... And slung your arm around the priest. As my father walked me down the aisle, we saw you cracking sexual jokes to the priest, and I remember Dad asking me, 'Are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to turn back.' He sounded so disappointed when I said that I was going to marry you."

Arach chuckled as he slowly entered the kitchen. "I can't believe the priest hated my jokes..."

"You don't tell a priest sexual jokes, Arach. Especially ones that involve a rabbi and priest having sex," pointed out Nalani.

He waved her off. "So he was a homophobe. I told you that we should have just gone to Vegas..." "Then, I'm sure, the night would have been really bad, involving you going to jail, and my parents would have disowned me. Trust me, the wedding was a win for everyone," she assured him. "It was fun, just like I wanted it to be. There's no point in having a dull wedding. And I married _you_; it was one of the best days of my life. Though, I have to admit, Ceron's still on that list."

Arach raised his eyebrows. "How do you mean?"

"Him rescuing me from the darkness? Yeah, that's definitely one of the best things to happen in my life," replied Nalani as she turned and jabbed him, lightly, in the chest. "For both of us."

He inclined his head. "I guess you got me there," came his disgruntled agreement. "I'm still number one, though, right?"

Nalani laughed. "Of course you are. Why do you even have to ask?"

Arach shrugged a little. "To be honest, sometimes I wonder what you would do if you could go back in time. Would you still choose me, or was it just... convenient for you?"

It was Nalani's turn to raise her eyebrows. "If you even have to ask...--"

"Don't get mad," pleaded Arach. "I was just curious. Harmfully curious, I swear."

She nodded. "Well, alright, in that case... I loved Ceron. Honestly, if you didn't have more to you than extreme sexiness, then I'm not sure I could choose you over him. But you _are _more than that. You have a personality. You care for people a lot more than you would, at one point, admit. You're a great husband and father. There's not much more I could ask for," she admitted. "I can't judge Ceron because, obviously, I never got to have him as a husband or a father to my children, so I'm a little biased there, but I _love _you."

Arach picked her up and set her down on the counter. "Okay. I like those answers, so I guess I don't have to kill you..."

Nalani grinned. "You can't kill me; I'm cute. But, you know, it's my turn now."

"Oh, no." Arach began to back away, but Nalani locked her legs around his waist. "Please, no."

"It's only fair," she pointed out. "What about Destine, mm? If you had the chance to go back in time, then would you still choose me? Or would you choose her?"

Arach snorted. "Destine was a desperate, pathetic bitch. Before I met you, I only went with her because she was easy." At her glare, he amended, "That is to say, we held hands and skipped down the streets of Lomura Kai."

"Like I believe you ever held hands and skipped with anyone... Besides Laurence and Sage, of course."

"But, no, I wouldn't. I would still choose you, honest," insisted Arach.

Nalani was wearing a thoughtful expression. "What about Laurence and Sage?"

"What about them?" asked Arach, his eyebrows furrowed into one.

A small smile was on her lips. "When I first saw you and Laurence together, you didn't fight him off very hard. Did you, Laurence, and Sage ever--?"

At that point, Caleb entered the kitchen. Arach turned toward his son with the brightest smile the boy had ever seen; Caleb slowly raised his hands and backed away. "If this is a bad time, I'll just--""Oh, no, no, no. Caleb, have I ever told you that you're my favorite son? Because you are, believe you me." Arach dropped his hands on either one of Caleb's shoulders. Caleb winced.

"Are you drunk?"

"I'm drunk?" A voice called from somewhere outside the kitchen. And, once again, Cashel proceeded to scream. "But I feel so sober!"

Nalani dropped down onto the floor. "What was that about?"

Caleb shook his head. "It definitely doesn't matter. There's a fuck load of Heartless outside, and I don't know where the keyhole is. If we don't hurry..." He trailed off, but no one needed him to finish his sentence.

Arachnid Nightmare flashed into Arach's hand immediately. "Say no more. I'll go seal the keyhole. Can you, Cashel, and Camilla try to cut down the number of 'em? Find Sage; he should be able to help..."

"Camilla's not in her room. I already checked."

Nalani shook her head. "Then, she's probably with Sage."

"Or Christian," murmured Caleb.

Arach flicked Caleb's forehead. "Shut up. Go with your mother and the extra-mouth-to-feed." He turned around and kissed Nalani's cheek briefly. "Take care." As he started toward the door, Nalani called him. "Huh?"

"Arach, we have a baby. We can't leave Naomi here, by herself."

He looked perplexed for a moment but quickly nodded. "Ah, yes. I have the perfect babysitter in mind..."

**XxX**

"You cannot be afraid to do what I ask, Christian. It is quite important, simply be brave," ordered Xemnas via a portal in the side of a building in the alleyway. Although Christian wasn't quite sure how the once-Nobody had known that he had been wanting to see him, he decided not to question anything.

Christian shook his head. "I am not guarding the keyhole so it remains unsealed. I don't want this place to be destroyed. My aunt lives her, and Camilla..."

"Hm. You are much better off without your aunt, Christian. She is a spineless weakling who would, no doubt, sell you to the highest bidder. As for Camilla, don't you think it's better if you just forget her? That girl will be nothing but trouble for you."

Christian narrowed his eyes. "I don't think you know as much about Camilla as you pretend."

Xemnas chuckled. "Really? I do recall having to throw her and her best friend out of my Castle last year when they, and Camilla's boyfriend, decided to start a fight with some of my underlings. At any rate, when we have more time, I will tell you more. In the meantime, I need you to trust me. Do you really want to keep around a place that has such terrible memories? Or do you want to create a new life for yourself altogether?" Christian murmured something incoherent, and Xemnas nodded. "Then, you know what to do. Perhaps, once you have done your job, I will be able to help you discover the truth about your father. In the meantime, go to the keyhole."

Christian nodded. "Yes, sir."

**XxxxxX**

"God _damn_," growled Kaspar as he slashed a few Neoshadows away from him and Tifa. "What the hell is this shit? What's going _on_?"

Tifa shook her head as she punched a Morning Star into the air. "I wish I could tell you."

A giant shuriken flew down from one of the rooftops and sliced through a group of Heartless that had quickly surrounded them. Someone dropped down and grabbed the giant star as it returned to her. "I think I can help, if you really need an answer," remarked the shuriken-wielder.

Kaspar gazed at the ninja woman. "So, Yuffie?"

Yuffie smiled, or tried to. "I just talked to Roxas, Naminé, Axel, Reixka, and their daughters. Twilight Town is suffocating under the amount of Heartless, so this isn't a coincidence. It's--"

"Kingdom Hearts," an alto's voice remarked as three more people stepped into their view. The one who had spoken was wearing black shorts that covered the majority of her thighs and a folded black midriff shirt. Her hair was short and silver with black lowlights.

"Supreme power, right?" asked another girl, one with a squeakier voice. She wore a pair of olive-colored shorts and a sleeveless orange shirt. Her hair was long and blond with some strands braided, contained in a high ponytail. She was swaying side to side, looking a little jittery. Kaspar wondered if she should have been allowed to wield the two daggers in her hands. The third woman was dressed in an outfit resembling a kimono with a long, pleated, indigo skirt and a white, sleeveless top. She wore long white sleeves with pink at the edges. **(A/n: Because, as sure as I am that Yuna still looks hot in her thirties, I can't stomach having her wear skimpy clothes if I can avoid it.) **Her light brown hair was feathery at the edges and almost reached her shoulders. Kaspar couldn't keep his eyes off of hers: the left of which was blue and the other was green.

"Yuna, Rikku, Paine," greeted Tifa. "You've been keeping off the radar lately."

The darkly dressed one, Paine, shrugged. "Been busy with other stuff, but we're here now, aren't we?"

Tifa nodded. True enough. Yuna put her index finger to her chin. "We know the problem, all we need to figure out is the solution."

"Easier said than done," a man remarked as he released a Morning Star's heart. The man was tall and had spiky blond hair. He was wielding a large sword, covered in bandages, with ease. "If we could find those responsible, then..."

Kaspar had, admittedly, been quite frightened of Cloud Strife when he had begun to date his daughter. Luckily, he was nothing like the overprotective fathers portrayed on television. "Isn't that easier said than done, too?"

Cloud glanced at him with light blue eyes that had gained warmth in the years since Radiant Garden had first been destroyed. "Touché."

"My Latin teacher told me a long time ago that that's a wrong term to use. It means touch. Dad, you just, essentially, touched my boyfriend," a too-cheerful voice informed Cloud as yet another person joined them. This girl was much closer to Kaspar's age, just a few years older, and was wielding a large sword.

Paine stared at the girl and shook her head. "Whose daughter are you?"

"If I didn't know any better, I would say Yuffie's," replied Tifa. "But I know better. Anyway, what are we going to do?"

Cloud leaned his sword against the wall of their house. "Gather the others -- everyone. Call Destiny Islands, Jewel's Grove, Twilight Town--"

"Already done," chirped Yuffie.

"Lomura Kai and Disney Castle. I've already talked to Leon."

**XxxxxX**

"Did you ever find the Fountain of Youth?" wondered Ryley, who was sitting on the railing of the _Pearl_, once Barbossa and Jack finished their story.

Barbossa shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Before we had the chance, Port Royal fell to the darkness."

"Didn't Port Royal's keyhole get sealed?" asked Kiera.

Jack tilted his head backwards as he threw back a bottle of rum. Kiera and Ryley exchanged an incredulous glance. And here they had thought the ship was a good place to land. "Not that I can remember."

"The way you drink, I can't see you remembering anything," muttered Ryley under his breath.

Kiera bit her lip. "Is it possible to create a Fountain of Youth?"

Barbossa shrugged his arms lightly. "Who can be sure? We don't even know the fountain is true." She knew that trouble would only stir if she mentioned that there was one in Jewel's Grove, so she conveniently left it out of their discussion.

"And a huge amount of Heartless were everywhere you looked. Before you knew it, the world was being sucked up by a huge vortex?" asked Kiera; Barbossa and Jack nodded. "Sounds just about right. I just don't understand how you two managed to get out with the _Pearl_."

Jack patted the railing of the ship fondly. "Who cares? All that matters is that I'm still captain of my ship."

Barbossa raised an eyebrow. "Ye're captain? I think ye been drinkin' too much rum, Jack."

"And I think it's time to get onto a new subject," said Ryley. "You two have no clue what could have caused it? None?" The pirates shook their heads. "Well, this was a huge help."

Jack gestured, they guessed, to a closet of sorts on the deck. "Now it's your turn to hold up your end of the deal. There are buckets and mops in there. Happy cleaning!" With that, they walked off in opposite directions. Where either of them were going, the keyblade-wielders weren't sure.

"I think we should just break for it," whispered Ryley.

Kiera shook her head. "I think I would rather not be shot at today. We'll figure out something. Maybe they know more than what they're saying; they're _pirates_."

"In the meantime, we clean. That sounds pirate-y enough," complained Ryley.

"Your attitude is really starting to get on my nerves," remarked Kiera.

He glanced at her briefly. "Then we're finally starting to act like the family we are." Ryley marched in the direction of the closet before she had a chance to reply.

**XxxxxX**

An all-too familiar orb was beginning to gain a form in the sky above Lomura Kai as Camilla aimlessly wandered the streets. If Christian left, then maybe she would have an opportunity to work out her feelings for Cashel so she would, possibly, stop forgetting that he was her boyfriend. Then, when Christian came back, she could figure out how she felt about him. Dissolve and Decay flashed with a faint green light as it appeared in her right hand, and she was only somewhat startled to see it. Shadows began to appear on the streets.

A brunet streaked past her, and the Heartless paid no heed to him. Camilla turned on her heel and watched as Christian ran back toward the beach. Was he not leaving after all? She took one glance at the Heartless and decided that she was more interested in what Christian was doing. With her long legs, she started after Christian, following him down the beach, and watching as he made his way under one of the piers. Camilla raised her eyebrows. That definitely wasn't suspicious at all.

"Christian!" Camilla called after him. Either he couldn't hear her, or she was being ignored; she desperately hoped for the former as she kicked up sand while she ran after him.

"Camilla!" A voice she had half-expected to be Christian's shouted. The only problem was that the voice was behind her; Camilla slowly turned and found herself face-to-face with Sage. "Camilla, stay here. Don't go after him."

Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. "Really? Because you were saying just the opposite this morning."

"And I've changed my mind. Is that alright with you?" Sage was uncharacteristically annoyed. Not the pretend annoyed that he usually used with her and her brothers; he was legitimately running out of patience with her. "Stay here," he repeated.

Camilla shook her head. "No. I know you're going to go after him, and then there's going to be yet another big reveal. Well, I'm tired of secrets. I'm going with you."

Sage narrowed his eyes and grunted. "Fine. I was trying to protect you, but if this is what you want, then so be it."

"Good, I don't need protection," replied Camilla with a curt nod before they continued down the beach. When they reached the pier where Christian appeared, to Camilla, to be hiding, he looked up sharply at their footsteps.

"Oh, it's just you," remarked Christian with relief. His face looked a little pale, and his hands were shaking.

Old Faithful flashed into Sage's hand. "You shouldn't sound so relieved," he remarked dryly. "Christian, if you don't stop what you're doing, then I'm going to have to take care of you."

"Doing? What is he doing?" demanded Camilla, looking earnestly from Sage to Christian and back again.

Christian pursed his lips. "You did this once, too. Lomura Kai's people don't deserve to thrive in the light. They deserve to disappear in the darkness."

Sage almost faltered. He sounded so much like himself way back when... He shook it off quickly. "Yeah, sure, they might, but this is my home now. I'm happy with it, and I won't let you destroy it. Why are you doing this? Why would you do this? For myself and my friends, it was because we hated our lives and the people in it -- aside from each other -- with a passion. You have nothing but happiness here."

"You're wrong. I want my answers, and I'll do whatever it takes to get them!" cried Christian. Camilla was reminded of herself, Ryley, and Kiera. At this very moment, she found herself missing them deeply. She was still confused, but not as much as before. Now she wished that she was completely in the dark. This was not something she wanted to understand.

Sage nodded. "Fine, alright. But I'm not going easy on you." Camilla stepped back out of instinct as the Dark Keyblade appeared in Christian's hand, and the two boys ran at each other.  


* * *


	8. MIA

**Chapter Eight:**  
M.I.A.

**A/n: Quince is, once again, going to show up in another story! At my request, catharsis25 is including him in the next chapter of his story, Finding My Adventure, so you should go read it because, come on, it's **_**Quince**_**. Oh, yeah, and because it's just awesome in general? But, most of all, Quince! **

**Kiera: So this is why this story never ends!  
Lolli: Whatever do you mean?  
Kiera: You love your characters too much!  
Cloud: Yeah, it's pretty unhealthy.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts! **

_'Don't look over your shoulder,_

_'Cause that's just the ghost of me you're seeing in your dreams._

_Wait, there's no rhyme or reason,_

_Sometimes there's no meaning in the visions when you're sleeping._

_Don't wake up and believe it;_

_You're looking at the ghost of me.'_

**-"Ghost of Me" by Daughtry**

**

* * *

**Was it possible to dream while your mind wandered the darkness? If it was, then Stefa would not have to worry that she was going insane. She saw herself, at the age of fifteen, fighting outside of the Castle that Never Was. And while she fought, Maleficent and her lackeys watched from the safety of their hideout. Quince and Arach laughed as an Angel Star knocked her to the ground, and Laurence and Sage rooted on a Giant Sword that was swooping down at her. Holly, Tiesa, and Destine cooly surveyed the carnage, too good to mindlessly shout at the mindless Heartless.

As if to further thwart her, a large red bird soared up the side of the side of the World that Never Was. It was a large bird, that much Stefa could tell despite her being so far away. She dodged the Giant Sword's weapon and watched as the bird seated itself at the top of the castle. It pressed its large wings against its body while it surveyed the Dark City with its small black eyes. The bird was not watching the city, Stefa realized with a jolt; it was watching _her_.

Stefa turned her body completely toward the Castle that Never Was, ignoring the Heartless behind her, and watched the beautiful bird. It gave her a satisfied feeling, and she heard a faint humming in her ears. She blinked twice. Why was she hearing a humming in her ears?

A pressure was building up inside of her, almost making her feel like something was going to burst out of her body. Her heart began to beat faster, and her head pounded in time with her blood. As she kept her eyes fixed on the red swan, flames erupted around its body.

After that, the only sound were the laughs of Maleficent and her crew.

**XxxxxX**

"Visitors? Who would want to come here when the Garden's full of Heartless?" wondered Aerith aloud from her spot on one of the couches in Merlin's living room. She stretched her arms and settled her legs on Kaspar's lap. He glanced in her direction and smiled. When Tifa had mentioned knowing better than to think Aerith was anyone else's daughter, she had been right. Aerith had relatively long blond hair tied in a high ponytail, her usual hairstyle. She had blue eyes the color of the purest water and bluest sky. Tifa had her doubts, at times, about Aerith being her daughter, but she was most definitely Cloud's with her appearance. Although the martial artist pretended to overlook the fact, her daughter also acted a great deal like her.

A grunt sounded from the computer chair off to the side of the room. Seated before the large system was a man wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, and a large orange belt. A pair of black goggles sat on his forehead, not that Kaspar had ever seen him have a need for them. "Maybe someone in need of help," he answered in a Southern accent as he scratched the back of his graying blond head.

Yuffie hopped across the room in one graceful leap, successfully landing behind, and scaring in the process, Cid. She gazed over his shoulder with her big brown eyes and blinked several times. "I don't think so. That's Quince's ship!"

Aerith frowned somewhat as she set her feet on the floor and sat up. "Does that mean Arach sent him here, or something, for Kaspar? Because that's not okay at all."

Tifa patted her daughter's shoulder. "I guess it explains why we couldn't get anyone at Jewel's Grove."

"No, it doesn't," replied Paine. "They all have communicators on them."

Rikku giggled. "They're all too lazy!"

"That's not very nice, Rikku!" cried Elie as she threw the door open. "I don't like that Radiant Garden and Jewel's Grove are going through the same seasons. I was hoping for some warmth, you know."

Paine shook her head. "Do any of you Jewel's Grove wielders ever stop complaining?"

"Not for one year of any of our lives," replied Quince. "Well, I guess that's not necessarily true. Not when we were incapable of making any sound, I guess."

Demyx rubbed the back of his head; Tifa felt for him. Sometimes she wondered if he regretted involving himself closely with Elie and, thus, Quince, Stefa, and Nalani. Elie stretched her arms over her head and started for the staircase. "So, where are they? Sleeping, I bet, right?"

"Never bet, Elie," mumbled Demyx.

Cloud raised his eyebrow. "Elie, what are you talking about?"

Yuffie nodded her head eagerly. "Who are 'they'?"

"Ryley and Kiera," answered Laine, speaking up for the first time. Her cheeks turned cherry red as everyone in the room focused their attention on her. Out of everyone in the room, the only ones she had ever met were the ones she had entered with. She wondered who they saw when they looked at her.

Cid scratched the back of his head. "Did Kairi have a... really little sister?"

"No, I'm Laine," she replied, still blushing. "I'm Kairi's Luce." Understanding dawned on everyone's faces, and Yuna considered her original statement.

"We haven't seen or Ryley or Kiera," she responded. "Should we have?"

Quince glanced at Laine, sharply. "You said they were coming here."

"They _were_," she replied before turning toward Cid. "Don't you watch these monitors all day? Didn't their ship come in?"

Cid turned back to the screen, clicked a few times, and typed a few keywords. He slowly turned around and shook his head. "No other ship but yours today."

**XxxxxX**

Despite the screeching cries of the seagulls and the crashing sound of the waves hitting the shore and pier, Camilla could only hear Sage and Christian as they ran further out into the water and clashed their keyblades. "Can I ask you something?" requested Christian as he swiftly ducked and dug the guard of the Dark Keyblade into Sage's stomach. Sage grunted something incoherent as he stumbled backwards. "Why do you care what happens to this place?"

"Didn't I already tell you? This is my home," replied Sage. "It has more of a meaning now than it did before." He ducked around one of the pier's pillars as Christian swiped at him again and got his keyblade lodged into the wood.

Christian shook his head as he tugged on his weapon. "And why does it have a meaning? Your memories?" Sage didn't reply. "Those ones that are dead and gone? Can you tell me where Laurence is right now, Sage. Can you tell me why you're alone?"

Camilla had never, not once, seen Sage lose control. Now, as his eyes became darker and his grip on Old Faithful became tighter, she realized she was about to see a very rare thing occur. "You speak the words, but you don't really know what they mean. In that way, you definitely remind me of your mother." As always with Sage, his words were his sanctuary, and they were currently calming him. "I have memories to protect, yes, but don't we all?"

"Not many," retorted Christian as he put one foot on the wood and tugged even harder.

"And that's what happens when you lead a sheltered life," replied Sage. "You don't want the type of memories myself, Arach, all the other older wielders, Kiera, Camilla, and Ryley have. You just don't."

The Dark Keyblade came free from the wood with a loud crack, leaving behind a rather large hole in the wood. Christian brandished it at Sage in a threatening manner. "Do you know what it's like to think your mother lied to you? To not have a father?"

"Given who your mother is, I don't really think you should be so surprised," muttered Sage. "And, I do. I drowned this city so my parents would go away. I hated them so much; I just wanted them to die." One of the solid reasons why Camilla liked Sage was for his uncensored honesty. This was one of those times.

Camilla took a few steps forward into the water, allowing her shoes to get soaked as her feet sunk into the wet sand. "Christian, you could be happy here."

Christian's head didn't so much as twitch in her direction. "Sage, you're trying to protect Lomura Kai for your dead memories, for your loneliness. When Camilla and her family isn't here, you're completely alone. The only company you have are your memories. It's sad, but not sad enough." He charged forward in a stabbing motion that Sage understood almost instantly.

"Do you really want to know what will happen if you release my darkness?" he asked with a coy smile that greatly contrasted his dry voice. "If you can't play with the big dogs, then stay with the pups on the porch!" Sage held out his free hand and allowed dark energy to build around it. A tar-like blackness laced with purple surrounded his hand and flew, suddenly, through the air.

The darkness hit Christian square in the solar plexus, knocking the air out of him, and sent him tumbling into the water. Camilla ran forward without another thought. Her clothes would get soaked, and her makeup would get ruined, but she didn't care. She reached forward and seized Christian's hand just as he went under. "Don't give up, dummy. If you're going to take my secret with you to the grave, then it has to be on my terms!" Over the pounding of her heart, which had somehow snuck into her throat, and crashing of the waves around her, Camilla was only barely aware of the satisfying clicking noise of Lomura Kai's keyhole being sealed.

The sky became calm once more as the sky returned to its light, just risen, coloring. And the senseless Shadows that had been jumping off of the top of the pier ceased to exist altogether. All Camilla found herself concerned with was wrenching Christian out of the water and dragging his sputtering form back onto the beach. "Camilla." The tone of the voice was final, and she expected to find herself facing Sage's disappointed face. She wasn't. Instead, her father, mother, twin, and boyfriend were standing before her.

Arach's arms were crossed over his muscular chest, and he had one eyebrow raised. She had no doubt that it was him who had said her name in such a way, but it was a surprise. Arach never truly sounded like a serious parent unless there was some serious business going on. "Dad..."

Camilla turned as she felt the warmth of Christian's body heat leave her. He was being wrenched, upward, by someone that she only recognized too well. "Xemnas!" Her voice jumped an octave as she cried his name and Dissolve and Decay reappeared in her hand. She took a moment to admire the breathtaking keyblade, from its dark red helleborine flowers to its brown and green vines.

"Camilla!" Someone's voice called in warning. She quickly sidestepped as a whizzing sounding in the air behind her. Arachnid Nightmare sailed through the air and attempted to make a residence in Xemnas' chest, but he efficiently knocked the keyblade into the air with a slash of his aero blade. The keyblade flew upwards before losing its momentum and colliding into an ornate sand castle.

Nalani took a few steps forward with her sky blue keyblade, decked out with clouds and lightning bolts. She brandished Perfect Killer threateningly. "Tell me where Stefa is."

Xemnas chuckled quietly. "Although your appearance and skills have dwindled and changed over the years, something that has never changed about you is your personality. It is... almost admirable. Almost,"

"Answer the question, assface," commanded Sage as he shouldered Old Faithful.

"Yes, you wielders have not changed a bit, a pity for you. Perhaps if you were willing to chance, then you would be able to survive in my new world," remarked Xemnas.

Arach narrowed his eyes. "And what, exactly, is your 'new world'?"

"Can you not feel it? Well, I suppose that is not so surprising, considering how foolish you are," noted Xemnas. "At any rate, the worlds are closing in on one another. Once they have aligned completely, I will have complete power over all."

Nalani raised her chin a few inches. "Hn. I wonder how exactly Saïx and Farkas feel about that..."

"Farkas cares not what I do so long as he gets his own choice in meals," answered Xemnas easily. "And Saïx will forever follow my lead. It is not as if I will not share what I have."

"How cute, married couples usually do share everything fifty-fifty," stated Sage. "I see you're finally coming out with your relationship."

Xemnas only chuckled in response as he held out his left hand. "Pity that you believe your little jibs will help you in any way. Even after all these years, you all understand so very little." Tendrils of light and darkness energy shot from his hand and knocked Sage down the beach.

"Sage!" Arach cried out as the green-haired wielder hit the ground and moved no longer. With one of the most frightening expressions on her father's face that Camilla had ever seen, he recalled Arachnid Nightmare to his hand and rushed at Xemnas. "You've crossed one too many lines, Xemnas!"

"And you are still a fool, Arach," responded Xemnas easily as a jewel-like barrier rose between himself and Arach. "Perhaps if you had bothered to take note of the things around you and _learn _from your foolishness, you would not be in your current predicament." A portal appeared behind Xemnas and, Camilla noticed, he still managed to hold himself in a regal manner as he dragged Christian's unconscious form behind him.

Nalani hurled Perfect Killer at Xemnas' back, unsurprised when the portal closed just before the keyblade could injure him. She recalled the keyblade to her hand only to dismiss it to whichever realm it slept. "I guess our vacation is over."

**XxxxxX**

"You know what? I really hate waiting for shit," complained Farkas from the couch he was lazing on. He was idly flipping through a magazine. With a grunt, he hurled the magazine over his shoulder, knocking over a pile of books.

Saïx glared at the wolfman over the top of his book. "Which is why, I'm assuming, you're always out on the town. Has it occurred to you, Farkas, that you are not even deserving of the reward of using the Princess' heart? What have you done to help us?"

Farkas rolled onto his side and held up his head with his left arm. With a grin that revealed his canines, he responded, "I've made the town folk hesitant about coming up here. They're all afraid the wolfman will get their kids." He chuckled quietly, a disturbing, dark sound. "Not that it stops the wolfman from getting at them anyway, but you get my point."

"Indeed I do," agreed Saïx in a quiet, annoyed whisper as he rubbed his temples. "Well, isn't there some young flesh you have yet to have devoured?"

Another flashed smile from Farkas. "Too much."

"Might I suggest you take care of that?"

"Aw, Saï, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're tired of my company!" laughed Farkas without making a move to leave. Saïx turned his attention back to his book, his silence answer enough for Farkas.

"You lied to me. You sent me into a trap, pretty much. You made the job sound _easy_," a voice that neither Farkas nor Saïx recognized was shouting. The voice was young, that of a teenage boy.

Xemnas chuckled. "You expected it to be easy? Perhaps you have been living with your aunt for far too long. Christian, nothing is ever easy. You must be vigilant and work to get what you want. My apologies for being incorrect about your father. I had decided to trust in your dead mother as well although I know how foolish that is." He gracefully entered the room while Christian stalked after him with his eyes narrowed in an intense glare.

"You didn't know my... My mother was a great... I'm tired of everyone bashing my mother," growled Christian.

Farkas boomed with laughter. "I suggest you get used to the idea, kid. It's the truth."

Christian turned toward him, mostly unperturbed by the wolfman's wild, demented appearance. "And how do you know anything about that?"

"Me? Well, I was Cane's left-hand man for years, kid. If he were still alive, I'm sure he'd known more about you than you do, yourself. Hell, he'd find your father for you! Cane always gathered every piece of information on everyone. _Always_," answered Farkas with a fond grin. "Ah, I miss that demented psychopath."

Saïx muttered something that sounded a lot like, "He never left."

Farkas rounded on Saïx, still grinning, with an index finger raised. "Now, is that a very nice thing to say to your coworker?"

"If he spends his days devouring the young and lazing around, yes," replied Saïx before turning toward Xemnas, who was wearing a hint of a smile on his lips. "Now, if you have Christian, then that must mean we're taking a step forward."

Christian blinked. "What's to go forward with? You already have supreme power."

"Not exactly," said Xemnas. "I will explain it to you later. And, aside from that, we are still scientists at heart. There are a few things of Cane's that I would like to look into."

"Like...?" prompted Christian.

A meek shrug from Xemnas. "His old inventions and, most importantly, things about him. Cane knew everything about everyone..."

"What we would like to know are things about him. What drove him to what he was," finished Saïx. "In normal circumstances, it would be simpler if the person was still alive, but, given the person, I would say that we are better off."

Christian nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. "And what do I do?"

"We have an important job for you, Christian."

**XxxxxX**

"I've lost my kids. I must be the worst father in history," groaned Quince from where he was sitting on the couch in Merlin's house. He had his head resting in his hands, and he was not contributing to the discussion that the others were currently holding.

Elie lightly elbowed him in the ribcage, forcing Quince to sit up straighter as he turned to glare at her. "Kiera and Ryley are more than capable of taking care of themselves, as they have proven time and time again. And if you say that one more time, I think Cloud will run his sword through you."

"He's tried plenty of times before," a new voice remarked, "we would only be too lucky if it worked this time." The owner of the voice forced Quince's head down with his hand. "So, Quince, I hear you lost my daughter." There was a collective groan from the doorway of the house.

"Riku..." said Kairi in a warning.

"Can't we just play nice?" sighed Reixka as she led Anali further into the room. "You two never change."

Anali glanced up at her mother. "What would Aunt Stefa say if she heard that Kiera's fathers lost her?"

"She would mumble something about how men are hopeless, smack them both upside the head, and skip along, tracking down Kiera with her Awesome senses," answered Nalani as she, Arach, Camilla, Caleb, Cashel and Naomi entered the house.

Cloud raised his eyebrows a little. "Huh, it's a party. How did you know to come here?" he asked Nalani an the others.

Arach grinned. "My spidey senses, of course."

"Of course," mumbled Cloud.

Tifa patted his arm lightly. "I think I'm going to get a drink." **(A/n: That seems to be a running joke throughout this story so far.) **

One final person entered the house, a million times more out of place then Laine had been. She nervously pushed her platinum blond hair behind her ears as she gazed around the room with her big blue eyes. "One of these things is not like the other," Nalani began to sing, earning herself warning glances from several people.

"Maggie. Didn't Arach and Nalani color the Organization's white kitchen with your blood?" wondered Axel.

Anali and Aerith both ducked their heads. "That was a mental image I didn't need to see," mumbled Anali.

"What brings you here?" asked Naminé with surprise.

Maggie fidgeted a little under everyone's scrutiny. "I need to find Christian, and the only way to find him is working with all of you, so I guess I'll take it."

* * *

**A/n: Now would, likely, be a good time to mention that this is my last update for a few days as I am going out of town for my cousin's wedding. Exciting, exciting stuff. :D I'll probably write a bunch during my downtime there, so do not fret. I hope you enjoyed the chapter -- please review! **


	9. Burning World

**Chapter Nine:**  
Burning World

**A/n: I'm sorry it took me so long. Dx' I meant to get this one up about two weeks ago, but I didn't have the time. Now my updates are going to be slow as hell because I don't have a computer... but I'll try! Please enjoy and review and, of course, listen to the song.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_Slow down, this night's a perfect shade of_

_Dark blue, dark blue._

_Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?_

_Well, I'm here with you._

_I said the world could be burning and burning down...'_

**-"Dark Blue" by Jack's Mannequin**

**

* * *

**Captain Jack Sparrow threw open the door to the Captain's Stateroom at the same time as Barbossa entered through the door leading to below the deck. "Where's that yapping coming from?" The two pirates demanded in unison. Their eyes met across the deck and narrowed at one another before gazing around the _Pearl _for the source of the noise. A large black Labrador, Midnight, was playfully chasing a tan and black Cocker Spaniel, Misti. "What in the...?"

"We couldn't leave the dogs in the ship, who knows how long we'll be here," said Kiera as she leaned against a large wooden mop. She was no longer in jeans and a tee and, instead, was wearing a long puffy-sleeved shirt beneath a long black vest with a pair of short brown shorts. Her regular white shoes had been replaced by knee-high black boots, and a black pirate hat with a heart was sitting atop her head.

"That's some form of animal abuse," agreed Ryley, who was leaning against the railing of the _Pearl_. Like Kiera, he was wearing a new outfit, a brown vest with the sleeves ripped and long black pants. He was idly cleaning his black-rimmed glasses with part of the vest. A turquoise-checked bandana was tied atop his head.

Jack threw his arms up in the air. "I don't want the _Pearl _smelling of wet mongrels!"

"Too late," muttered Kiera in an undertone.

"It's our problem," replied Ryley as he pushed off the railing and replaced his glasses. "We're the ones that have to clean the ship."

Jack considered this for a moment. He took a swig from the bottle of rum in his left hand. "Ah, that's right! Well, you two have fun with that!" Barbossa muttered something under his breath as he returned below the ship.

Kiera turned back toward Ryley with an eyebrow raised. "Thank you, I think." Her voice was clipped and made Ryley winced. As she turned around and began to mop the deck, Ryley approached her and turned her toward him.

"Listen, I'm sorry."

She blinked her bright seafoam eyes. "For... what? Telling the truth? No need to apologize for telling the truth, Ry." Kiera turned back to her work.

Ryley scowled. "Kiera..."

"What?" she demanded as she turned back and glared. "What do you want me to say?"

"That we're not related," he replied dryly.

Kiera laughed. "Sorry, I wish I could do that, but I don't have that type of power. Besides, Ryley, I thought that we didn't care about being related?" When he dropped his guilty eyes to the deck and began to shift his weight from foot to foot, she got her answer. "Ah, I see. So this _is _a problem for you."

"Well..." Ryley opened his mouth, thought better of his words, and closed it. "What about what everyone else thinks?"

"Tell me, what does everyone else think?" she asked in a sweet voice. "And I thought that you never listened to what anyone else says?" Ryley still could not bring his eyes back to meet hers. "I guess I was wrong." Kiera bent down to pick up the wooden bucket and walked to another part of the deck.

**XxxxxX**

"Please don't tell me you're giving up," remarked Tifa with a frown as she folded her arms over her chest. Her red-brown eyes burned into the back of Quince's head as he settled himself into a kitchen chair. When he said nothing, she strode forward, yanked his chair back, and flicked his forehead. "Hey!"

Quince flinched his head backwards and rubbed the afflicted area. "What?"

Tifa, her eyes narrowing into a glare, leaned down as she put a hand on the back of his chair. She made perfectly sure that they were at perfect eye-level. "When Cloud told me about you all those years ago, I thought Stefa was crazy. I still do. You give up too easily, you complain. Where are your redeeming qualities, Quince?"

Kaspar pushed open the kitchen door while Aerith zipped in front of him. Her mouth dropped open a little as she watched her mother. "Mom..." She said in awe.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" demanded Kaspar, his temper flaring a bit.

"Not harsh enough," decided Paine as she crossed her arms and pushed past them to enter the kitchen. "You've had a lot of chances, Quince. Now you're just sitting here, throwing them away again. What are you waiting for?"

Quince's head snapped in her direction, breaking his and Tifa's staring contest. Rikku and Yuna tiptoed into the room after their friend, watching with bated breath with the teenagers. "Has it occurred to either of you that I'm not waiting for anything?"

"Maybe," replied Rikku, not dragging out the 'a' for longer than usual as she usually would. Her voice, if possible, sounded serious. "Then, you're just sitting here, letting the world whirl on by. That's dumb."

Yuna put her index finger to her lower lip. "Maybe Nalani could knock some sense into you."

Quince stood up abruptly, the chair squeaking in protest as he did so. His brown eyes were illuminated with anger, the perfect picture of an angered teenage Dennis. "I'm not waiting for anything; I'm thinking. Thinking about where they could be, what I could do."

"Thinking? That sounds pretty dangerous," remarked Nalani as she entered the room. Everyone's eyes were on her, but she only looked at Quince. For the first time in a while, she really, truly studied him, almost in a fashion that Dennis would but with much less hunger and sinisterness. He looked tired and aged, like the years had really taken their toll on him. The years had taken their toll on everybody, but Quince had been her other best friend, steps below Stefa, but really high up there. As she stared at him, she could see him, truly see him, as she used to. As her best friend.

Nalani moved across the kitchen, once again disregarding the others, and reached out to him with the slightest amount of hesitation. "We've fought to find Stefa again and again over the years," she noted. "But, it's always been wrong, you know. You and I, we never really worked with each other. It almost seems like we've forgotten who the other is. But I know still, and I think you do too. You were my other best friend, Quince. You left for the darkness, yeah, but I like to think I've forgiven you ninety-nine percent for that. So why are we still distancing ourselves from each other? In order to find Stefa, we all _really _need to work together. The worlds are closing in and everything's really changing. Everyone needs to have no doubt that they can trust each other.

"Quince, what are you so afraid of?" Her words sunk into his brain as well as his heart. A smile touched his lips, but it was brief. His vision was darkening, his legs were getting weak. For the first time in a really long time, Quince realized he was fainting. Before he was lost to the world, he realized that several people, including Nalani, had moved forward to catch him.

**XxxxxX**

Farkas was, for once, immersed in something other than young flesh or boredom. He was idly flipping through a magazine at the long dining room table, mostly for something to do rather than entertainment. Although he was somewhat immersed in the glossy pages, it was not enough to make him ignorant to the presence of a person sitting at a chair just to his right. The new arrival stared at him with dark brown eyes, just awaiting for the wolfman to acknowledge his presence. An inward smirk appeared on Farkas' lips as he began to feign ignorance. Christian was new and, as such, would likely play the games with him that Xemnas and Saïx used to.

Christian was far less stubborn than the ex-Nobodies, as he immediately spoke up when Farkas had no outward reaction. "You said you were Cane's left-hand man."

Farkas snorted as he turned another page of the magazine. "And you speak like a parrot, kid."

Ignoring the remark, Christian pressed, "Why did you desert him?"

"Funny that you would ask since I'm bettin' you really don't know who Cane is, kid."

Christian's brow puckered; at the moment, Farkas was reminding him a lot of Sage. "How do you know?"

Farkas finally set the magazine on the table and stretched his arms over his head. "If you did, you'd be afraid to speak the name. Someone like you, you'd shiver without meaning to when you thought of him." He turned his amber eyes on Christian's dark ones and tilted his head, ever so slightly, to the side, like a confused dog. "Hm. Strange."

"What is?" asked Christian with bewilderment although he was relieved that Farkas was furthering their conversation. Instead of responding verbally, Farkas reached forward and grabbed Christian's hair. "Hey! What the fuck is this?"

Like a canine, Farkas sniffed the hair before releasing it and leaning back in his chair. "Ask me what you wanna ask me, kid. I'm a real busy man."

"Nobody," amended Christian with a smirk, still far more than confused about Farkas' previous actions. Farkas did not take offense to this, disappointing Christian a little. "Why did you desert Cane for Saïx and Xemnas? Why did you join Cane in the first place? Why--"

"Geez, one question at a time, kid! For the love of Kingdom Hearts," murmured the Nobody as the chair hit the ground with a bang. "I joined the two Nobodies because I knew that they were going to, eventually, get what they wanted. Same reason why I joined Cane."

Christian mulled this over a few minutes before blinking. "That makes no sense. It's contradictory. Did Cane not get what he wanted, then?" Farkas only chuckled in response, informing Christian that he would be getting no answer to that particular question.

"I had no doubt that Xemnas and Saïx would get the supreme power of Stefa's heart," answered Farkas, slowly, as he thought over his words. "That's not what Cane wanted. He didn't want that power."

Christian had heard things, just some things, from Maggie who, no doubt, had sugar coated the majority. "Just who _was _Cane?"

"Heh. Cane will always be alive so long as people still speak of him. I have no doubt the wielders speak of him, to this day. His face, his words, go through their minds on a daily basis. But, outta fear, they refuse to admit it. But I'm blabbering. Cane's a great man. As a kid, he was a genius, so his parents sent him to work with the scientists in the Radiant Garden. That was before Xehanort came around, though. Some years after that, all that shit with Terra, Aqua and Ven happened and Cane got even more involved in his research. His parents brought him back and forth between Radiant Garden and Jewel's Grove all the time. Finally, the morons lost their hearts to the darkness, and Cane lost his eyesight. But, in the darkness, he met Maleficent and started to do her deeds. He went back to Jewel's Grove and pretended like he was a normal kid, all the while checking up to make sure that Stefa was who the witch said she was. After a while, Maleficent needed Cane to do work outside of his home, so, with kind parting words to his little brat of a brother, he left. From there, he visited many worlds, watched as Maleficent manipulated Riku and attempted to become all powerful. He watched everything from the darkness: the creation of Laine, her ultimate downfall, the rising and falling of the Organization...

"And you may or may not know the rest. How Maleficent revived the Organization, Cane recruited the Lomura Kai meat and his brother, the Two-hearted princess was discovered. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. There you go, kid. That's Cane's early life."

But Christian hardly believed him. "How do you know all of this?" he demanded with suspicion. "And there's a lot more to Cane than that. There's a reason he was, supposedly, 'all powerful' and insane. I've heard stories." Christian stood up, pushing away from the table in the process. If he wanted answers, he wouldn't get them from Farkas. "I've got to find out."

"You sound hungry kid," remarked Farkas amusedly.

Christian shrugged. "This is one insane puzzle. It should be fun to break down."

**XxX**

"Dennis is an overrated name," the voice of a boy nearing the end of his teenage years. "That's what Maleficent told me, and I have no doubt that she's right. I'm... Fuck. I'm one of the smartest -- if not the smartest -- people out there. Dennis is a common name, one that carries a dry meaning. I need something that will suit me.

"Which is, of course, something no one has come up with before," declared the nineteen-year-old Dennis. Xemnas and Saïx had placed a tape that they had taken from the Castle that Never Was many years ago in the VCR player in the library. Saïx's eyes were just the slightest bit wide while Xemnas showed no emotion whatsoever. Dennis was sitting on a fairly comfortable bed that looked like it was made for a king. It was a four poster with a large scarlet comforter with a golden trim; his sheets matched. Reports, studies and pictures lined his walls and numerous notebooks had been scattered across the floor.

Christian entered slowly and joined the two men. "What are you watching?"

"Dennis as a teenager," replied Xemnas, almost distantly. "Seeing him so young makes me recall some memories of working in the lab," he informed no one in particular.

"Why did Dennis record himself?" wondered Christian as he took a seat on a book-covered table. The books fell to the ground, but neither Saïx nor Xemnas reacted to them.

Saïx glanced at the boy briefly. "We have yet to find out. I imagine it's in one of these tapes."

"Hn, as if the answer is not obvious," mumbled Xemnas, who was still watching the screen. "Now, shut your mouths."

"Cinahem. Niemach. Canehim... Ah, that last one doesn't work so well. But Cane, of course, would do very, very well..." Dennis mused. "Meanchi. Hamnice," he thought with a chuckle. The chuckle soon turned into a couple laughs before Dennis sobered up. "Nice ham. Bad chi. Well, indeed, I'll try out Cinahem. Cin. Cin, Cane and Niem all have a ring to them... Cina is certainly different. Perhaps that's one I should start off with. Seems less sinister. I would hate for anyone to know of my true--" The video cut off abruptly, the screen becoming snowy and exploding with the loud noise that always sounded when a connection was lost.

Xemans and Saïx exchanged quick glances. "That was certainly... enlightening," said Saïx with forced enthusiasm, which still sounded dry to Christian's ears. Christian had not noticed anything that was remotely exciting. A teenage boy laughing over a stupid word; that was nothing new.

But Farkas had mentioned that Dennis had been a prodigy. Prodigies weren't usually so... laugh-y. That was when he realized that the boy on the tape had gone from serious to downright jolly in the matter of a couple minutes. "He... really wasn't wired so well, was he?" remarked Christian.

Xemnas chuckled. "I suppose that is what happens to a young boy who is afflicted by an attack such as he was. Perhaps that should have been Maleficent's first clue. But she was foolish. At any rate, Christian, I'm sure you have better things to do than sit around and review old videos."

Christian raised an eyebrow. "I thought you needed my help. That's why I'm here, right?"

"Of course. But, for now, I would really like you to get settled. Farkas!" he shouted abruptly, startling Christian somewhat. The wolfman grudgingly entered the room. "Show Christian to his room."

"Sure thing, boss. Hey, kid, you wanna go check out the town with me?" asked Farkas, his sharp eye fangs glinting.

Xemnas narrowed his eyes. "Farkas." His tone was serious and dire. Farkas, with his metaphorical tail between his legs, signaled for Christian to follow him.

**XxxxxX**

Kiera was well-finished with her cleaning by the time Ryley was able to set down his mop and look for her. She perched her body over the edge of the crow's nest. She put her thumb and index finger in her mouth and quietly, but sharply, blew. Midnight began to bark immediately and chased after Ryley, as did Misti. Kiera tried, and failed, to hide her laughs as the dogs knocked him over and pinned him to the deck. Then, they began to lick his face. "Wait, hold up, stop. Gone, gone, the love is gone," groaned Ryley. "Come on, get off, please. I'll get you a nice bone." The dogs immediately rushed off of him and sat down with their tails wagging. "I'm sure there are a few bones lying around this messy thing."

Ryley pushed himself to his feet and wiped dirt off his black pants before cupping his hands around his mouth. "Kiera! Where'd you go?" The call was almost a reaction for the two of them when they noticed the other was missing. Realization slowly dawned upon his face as he recalled their previous conversation. His hands slowly dropped to his sides.

And, suddenly, Kiera found herself completely unable to hold her grudge against him. They were as good as all alone in the world at the moment. They couldn't turn their backs on the only thing they had. "Hey, Ry, I'll be right down!" She called down to him from way above.

He tilted his head upward and nodded, a smile on his face as he waited. She started her descension down the netting, sliding down the last few feet. A thought abruptly struck her mind, causing her to slip and, in turn, hurl toward the deck. Ryley's feet pounded against the wood as he ran forward to catch her. He caught her with ease and shook her a little. "Hey, Kier, you alright?" Ryley was holding her bridal style, and his handsome features were masked with concern. "Kier?"

She could see the phoenix in his eyes for just a split second and the vision of another boy, one with brown hair that held a red sheen, in her mind. Kiera shook the images from her head. "I must be exhausted. My mind's playing tricks on me," she said apologetically as he slowly set her on the ground directly beside him. Ryley slid a hand around her waist and hugged her body to his as he led them to the deck's railing. "It's... made me say some pretty stupid things tonight."

Ryley glanced at her. "Kiera..."

She shook her head. "No, wait. That's a dumb excuse. It's me. I've been downright bitchy today because... because... I don't know why. But I've just been bad all day. To you, in school... I'm sorry, Ry." She dropped her right hand and interlaced her fingers with his, giving it a quick squeeze. "I love you. I don't want you to ever doubt that. You're... amazing. No matter who your father may or may not be. Even if we're related. You're the best love I've ever had, I swear."

Ryley returned the reassuring pressure. "Hey, hush. I know you're all wound up, and I understand. I haven't been a huge help. But, you know, we could go now. We can go to the Radiant Garden and figure out what's happening."

Tears filled her eyes. "But what if that doesn't help, huh? What if we're still just as clueless as before? I don't want to hear another 'I don't know what happened to your mother' or any apologies. I just want to... leave. I want to go away somewhere far and never come back." She shook her head as the warm liquid trailed down her cheeks. "I don't want to deal with this stuff again. No more. It never stops, that much is painfully obvious. I read my mom's diary entries. Do you know how long this has been going on? Too long."

Ryley released his hand from her waist and freed his hand from hers. Just when she thought he was going to walk away, he turned her toward him and put his hands on either side of her face. "Stop. I know you don't mean any of that. You're overwhelmed; I am too. When we get to the Garden, we'll be surrounded by more people who care about us, right? I know you want your mother, but, right now, that's not an option. So, in the meantime, we can be surrounded by other people who love us, too." He released her face in order to brush her tears away. Then, he wrapped his arms around her back and held her to him. "And, no matter what, Kiera, you have me. Always. I promise."

Kiera felt herself nodding as tears continued to pour down her face. And as she closed her eyes and buried her head into his chest, she was faced with the burning phoenix once again.

* * *

**A/n: Ah, I really really liked that chapter. I was afraid the song would be a little sketchy during the parts with Farkas and younger Dennis, but... oh well. 358/2 Days is coming out tomorrow! God, I've been waiting since my first update of Fading Phenomena for that to come out. That's amazing. xD' Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please review! See you in the next (hopefully soon) chapter!**


	10. New Meaning to Alone

**Chapter Ten:**  
New Meaning to Alone

**A/n: I feel the need to assure you that this story does have a direction. It has an ending and some scenes between. However, until the ending I am, for the most part, winging it. xD' But it'll be good; isn't it always? x3' And I wonder why people stop leaving reviews... Enjoy! The other song I also liked for this chapter is Anywhere by Evanescence. I like the feel for both, so maybe you want to listen to a little of both?**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts!**

_'All I want (We are the ones back to our roots)_

_All I want (We are the dust that lies in you)_

_Is a little place of my own (We are the ones in too deep)_

_Where I can rest my head (We are the ones we are).'_

**-"And We All Return to Our Roots" by the Forecast**

* * *

The salty air that made up Destiny Islands was thick and almost unpleasant. Almost. Reixka closed her eyes in fond remembrance of the days she had been a young Nobody, lounging on the beach during her off days. Not to mention it reminded her of her birth. The first day was a blur to her, a little. As a Nobody, she had noticed that her hair really had not changed too much in length. So, on the day of her birth, it had been as long and light a brown as it had been until the day Stefa accidentally gave her a heart. She had awoken on a... pier. That was not something she understood, even to this day.

It had been one of Stefa's favorite spots, but Roxas had awoken in Twilight Town, a place Sora had not even physically visited until he awoke when Naminé finished fixing his memories. Xemnas had, as was the usual, come to pick up another new Nobody. How he knew of her whereabouts, she did not know or care to know. He had called her stubborn, that much she remembered. She had been stricken by a vision of Stefa and given her name. A name that was the anagram of Stefa's alter-ego, Keira.

A smile quirked at the corners of Reixka's lips. She had been a downright bitch while she was with the Organization. A bitch to the members that bothered her, and a bitch to Stefa, Nalani, Sora and everyone else. Now, here she was, a close friend of all of them. Yet her closest friend was gone. Reixka stared at herself in the mirror hanging on the closet door in Merlin's house. Her pale hazel eyes traced the laugh lines and wrinkles before glancing at her dark chocolate hair with the natural, eerie-colored streaks in them.

"Nobodies should change when they have a heart," murmured Reixka. "The only thing that's changed about me is my age."

"I think there are extenuating circumstances," offered a quiet voice from the doorway. Reixka jumped only somewhat as she glanced back at the intruder. Standing there was none other than Naminé with a faint smile on her face. "Reixka, I worry about you when you talk to yourself."

A grin appeared on Reixka's lips, however briefly. "Doesn't it remind you of Stef? The silly girl used to speak to me out loud, not knowing we could just communicate mentally."

"In the middle of hallways, right?" asked Naminé with a small laugh. "The people in the hallway probably thought she was cursing them under her breath."

Reixka nodded, her smile fading. "Those were the days... Now, what were you saying about circumstances?" A loud laugh -- one Reixka and Naminé easily recognized as Arach's -- sounded as he passed the room; they ignored him.

Naminé nodded before seating herself on the bed. She lightly kicked her heels against the wood framing while her hands dropped into her lap. "When a Nobody's Somebody is still around, I think it's different; it has to be because you can't have two of the same people running around."

"Unless you're Xemnas," noted Reixka as she leaned against the closet door.

Another laugh escaped Naminé's lips. "Unless you're Xemnas," she agreed. "So, if they're like me, you, or Roxas, then things are different. We had already developed our own wills and personalities, so it wasn't so hard. We were special. So we retained our appearances. Yet, the others... still look like they did as Nobodies."

"That's weird," remarked Reixka. "Do you know why?"

Naminé fought back the urge to stick out her tongue, as she would have so many years ago. "Do I look like Einstein? I don't know everything," she mock-chided the brunette. "I have a theory, especially for those as old as Xemnas and even Saïx and Axel. It's possible that they had retained their Nobody forms for so long that the heart couldn't recover their true forms. But it's not necessarily a bad thing."

"You're right," agreed Reixka. "I wouldn't want Axel any different than when we first met. I've always liked him the way he is. But if Nia were to get a heart...?"

"She would appear as she does now," replied Naminé. "She can't change to look like her Somebody, even so young, because Nalani still exists."

"Cashel, Farkas?"

Naminé flashed a grin. "Is this twenty questions? Farkas... I doubt his personality would alter much, really. But, to be honest, even with Cashel's young appearance, we have no clue how _old _they are. There is just still too much we don't know."

"Which could mean our end," murmured Reixka. "The sky's getting darker and darker by the hour, it seems. The worlds are drawing closer. I'm not sure I want to find out what happens when we become one big Pangea again."

As always when Naminé was particularly inquisitive, she tilted her head to the side, her hair flowing with the movement, and her deep blue eyes became a little more widened. "But how do we stop it?"

"By finding Xemnas and Saïx. I know it's not as easy as it sounds, but it's key. And with Farkas and that angsty teenager, Christian, with them it shouldn't be all that difficult. We can do it. We _have _to do it. Kiera needs a mother so badly in all of the instability in her life. And I would like our kids to be tortured no more," stated Reixka as she straightened up. "Maybe we could just visit other worlds. We'll probably have to be very careful now, though."

Again, Naminé became inquisitive. Her pale eyebrows knitted over her eyes. "Why's that?"

"If Xemnas is as smart as he looks, then he should have sent lackeys -- strong ones -- to each world to patrol them. He wouldn't want any uprising before the spell could be completely complete..." Reixka trailed off as several ideas entered her head; she promptly shook them off. "I'll tell you more when I decide the facts will make them possible. In the meantime, I think what I've said is pretty factual."

Naminé nodded and smiled warmly at her. Reixka had, admittedly, never imagined receiving that smile. It carried the warmth and comfort of the sun and brought forth images of warm climates and nice beaches. Envisioning Naminé being locked up in castles and mansions seemed impossible with a smile like that. "Alright. You look tired, maybe you should get some rest," suggested Naminé before exiting the room.

Reixka placed her arms behind her head before tilting it backwards to stare at the ceiling. "How did I get so lucky?"

**XxxxxX**

The sound of waves was relaxing, yet it was also... foreign. Since when could you hear the ocean so well in the Radiant Garden? Quince's eyes fluttered to reveal anxious brown eyes that chanced a glance at every which angle. The floor beneath him felt sandy, somehow; he ran his hands through it, allowed the grains to slip through his fingers. Darkness that was less dark and more navy blue surrounded him, but there was an undoubtable source of light high in the sky. Sky, if that's what one wanted to call it.

Now that he was fully conscious, Quince became aware of the fact that he could hear a faint cooing made a little louder by what seemed like multiple sources. He pushed himself into a standing position and took a few steps forward. "Hello?"

_'Back in the darkness?' _A disembodied voice that bounced around the area like a balloon losing helium asked him. He frowned in response and took another step.

The cooing intensified immediately and the rustling of wings joined it immediately. Quince's reflexively summoned Maybe Memories as a large flock of doves lifted themselves off the sand and flew in the direction of the light. _'Birds are clever. They always fly towards light.' _

"You were never this conversational before," murmured Quince as he made a valiant attempt to pat down his now wild hair. He blinked a few times when he realized that he had cut his hair short many years ago, yet he somehow had a large amount of it. Not only that, but he was also donned in a red fitted tee and black jeans. His eyesight was much more clear now, too, and it had nothing to do with the bright light shining from beneath his feet. "Whoa!" Quince took a few steps back as he realized that the area had changed with the doves. Where there had been sand was now a brightly illuminated, stained glass pillar. The atmosphere around him, while it still smelled salty, was pitch black with a gray-colored fog hanging.

The fog seemed to cover everything but Quince, the platform, and the light. _'Things change. We adapt and learn how to deal with it.' _The voice was starting to sound less like the disembodied voice that had haunted Quince while he wandered the darkness and in-between world. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite recognize it. Instead of responding to the voice, he took a few steps forward in order to admire the image. The glass was, mostly, a bold crimson color with Quince, a teenage Quince, depicted. Standing behind him, sideways with his arms folded, was Dennis wearing a smug grin. Elie, also a teenager, would have been standing back to back with him had she not inched forward so that she was standing a little past Quince's right arm. She wore a giant grin on her face with one arm extended in the air in a wave while the other locked onto Quince's arm.

_'And, apparently, we don't question the obvious,' _the voice was obviously that of a girl, a teenage one at that, and sounded amused. _'Your appearance, this place, your keyblade... None of it is worthy of interrogation?' _

"Who are you?"

The voice laughed. "I am me. The me I always was even though I can't exist outside of darkness right now."

"Stefa?" murmured Quince as he raised his keyblade, only to find not the reassuring appearance of Maybe Memories but of Twisted Misery. **(A/n: Quince's crimson keyblade. Yaaay.) **"What... Alright, what's going on?"

"Does the past scare you?" taunted the voice. "Consider yourself lucky. I can't even remember mine."

Quince's eyes narrowed for a second, as if he was trying his hardest to peer into a small, dark space. "You can't remember yours? What about me?"

"I know all about you, Quince," laughed the girl. "But you're my present, not past. Now, stop with the chit-chat! We have work to do!"

"What work?" asked Quince as he gazed around the empty area.

She giggled. "The kind that you couldn't have done at you're current age, hence why you're a teenager again." As soon as the words left her lips, several Shadows appeared, flanked by a particularly large Shadow, one a good deal larger than even Quince.

"Did I get smaller, too?" he demanded of the voice as the Mega-Shadow lunged in his direction.

"These are actually pretty common Purebloods, a Mega-Shadow," remarked the girl. "They're not too strong, either."

"But..." Quince cut himself off before destroying the smaller Shadows. His teeth snapped together as he glanced down at his hand. Small, but powerful, wisps of darkness were escaping from the hilt and entwining around his wrist. The keyblade was strong, but there was no reason to use it when Maybe Memories worked just as well, and without the pitfalls. The Mega-Shadow abruptly launched itself forward, successfully knocking Quince off the edge of the platform.

And, as he fell, he could hear Dennis' words clearly in his head: _'Little brother, didn't I tell you not to play with fire unless you want to get burned?' _

**XxxxxX**

"A small thanks for ye," offered Barbossa as he returned to the main deck with a large patched satchel in his hands. He threw the bag through the air and Ryley effortlessly caught it. It jingled as it fell into his hands.

Ryley furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the bag then the pirate. "What's this?" he asked. Kiera was standing beside him, looking considerably more cheered, and the two of them were back in their regular attire.

"A few odds an' ends good ol' Tia Dalma left behind way back when," remarked Jack as he took a swig of rum.

Barbossa threw him a sharp glance. "The goddess Calypso, during the time we were forced to imprison her, seemed to have left a few things behind. Guess I haven't been down there in a while."

"How are they going to help us?" wondered Kiera as she made to grab the bag.

Barbossa raised an eyebrow. "If ye don't want it, give it back."

Kiera held the bag tightly in her hand. "No." **(A/n: I hope you get the reference. x3) **

"Besides, she was a voodoo witch. Maybe something in there'll be helpful to ye," remarked Barbossa.

"And you care about helping us out?" remarked Ryley.

With a movement that was almost invisible to the eye, Barbossa had grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it out. "Don't question it, hm?" suggested Jack, a little too cheerfully.

Kiera nodded. "Thanks, then. We'll try to figure out how to get you back into Port Royal. But, you should be careful. Who knows who'll attack you way out here."

"I appreciate your concerns, miss, but they be unnecessary. We're pirates. We don't need protection," replied Barbossa.

And, loudly and drunkingly, Jack sang, "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"

Barbossa shook his head and pulled a pistol out of its holster with his free hand. He fired a couple shots at his colleague's feet, making Jack dance. "I suggest you leave before this gets ugly," said Barbossa.

Kiera, with a smile on her face, nodded and pulled Ryley toward the Gummi ship. Once inside, she stuck the bag in a compartment in the cockpit while Ryley all but dragged the dogs in. "Now what's the plan?" she asked him.

"Wing it?" he suggested.

**XxxxxX**

"Why does it feel like every time I'm around Quince, something detrimental to his health happens? Like when we were Freshman and I was the last one to speak to him before he went to the dark side, now this, and many other things," remarked Nalani with a frown as she leaned back in the wooden chair.

Kairi shook her head from across the kitchen table. "Quince should be fine. He didn't seem so bad when they brought him upstairs. Maybe it's just stress."

"That would be like you telling me that I was just fine if someone just suddenly burst out of my heart," murmured Camilla.

Kairi and Nalani glanced at her with equal expressions of surprise on their faces. "What kind of hypothetical situation is that?" asked Nalani. Camilla simply smiled and shook her head in response.

"Anyway, we need a plan," huffed Maggie as she tried to forget what Camilla had just said.

Nalani and Kairi nodded their heads earnestly as they stared at the blonde woman who had, somehow, managed to look far more aged than them. "We understand this well," replied Kairi, "so instead of repeating that a bunch of times, why don't you make a suggestion?"

Maggie opened her mouth then closed it. "Because I don't know what to do."

"Welcome to the club, we've got jackets," replied Nalani without missing a beat. The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes before Nalani, without warning, slammed her head against the table.

"Nalani, are you--?" began Kairi.

Nalani's head jolted back up at the same time as she jumped away from the table. "Dennis must have known about this shit, right? And he used to work here, didn't he? In the castle, somewhere, there should be stuff about him. Or maybe even in a library."

Kairi nodded earnestly as she sat up straight. "That's a great idea. Maybe Tifa knows where a library is. We can just send Sora, Riku and the other guys to the castle to check it out."

Maggie squished her lips together as if she had just eaten something particularly sour. Then, she nodded. "Yeah, sure, I guess it's worth a try."

Nalani turned toward her with a smile. "When you contribute something meaningful to the group, Maggie, you'll be allowed to pass judgement. In the meantime, just remember that we're in a kitchen, a site of your death." What made Nalani's words all the more disturbing to Maggie was that she had practically sung them out of joy.

**XxxxxX**

"I don't like this game, fifteen or not," gasped Quince as he doubled-over on an orange platform displaying Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi. "Let's end it."

"That has multiple meanings, you know," remarked the girl. "But you still haven't questioned a whole lot. Why?"

Quince shrugged. "Because I'm not fifteen and no longer wield this... this thing," he spat with disgust as he waved Twisted Misery for emphasis. The wisps of darkness had thickened and turned into vines that had twisted around his arm and, in some cases, burrowed into his arms. "This is not okay. This is a dream."

"This is a dream," agreed the girl. "And in dreams, you can do anything you darn please."

He blinked. "What does that mean?"

"It means that the only reason any of this is happening is because you're _letting _it. You're allowing the darkness of the keyblade to take over you; you're allowing your heart to blot out the ability to summon your other keyblade. The only reason you keep losing your battles in here is because you don't believe that you can do it. That's not like you."

Quince pursed his lips together as he stepped into the center of the platform. Dusks seemed to materialize out of no where. "You're right." The words almost sounded like they pained him.

"They say that mindset is all it takes sometimes. I don't understand it, really," she admitted, "but they say that part of the reason people who aren't either young or old can't seem to do much is because they don't think they can. So if you believe... you can do it."

Quince ducked, causing a Dusk to jump over his head, before knocking a few of them off the ledge and into nonexistence. "You're right," he agreed again, his voice a little stronger now. A staircase appeared near him, winding further toward the light and to another platform.

He ran up the stairs, ignoring the Nobodies as they materialized behind him, and didn't stop until he reached the other platform. This one was lavender, but Quince couldn't really make out the images depicted as someone was sitting in the center of it. Her fairly long, light-colored brunet hair cascaded down her back. She was wearing an aquamarine-colored tank top and shorts that looked like she had personally ripped them.

Her head snapped in his direction when his footsteps uncertainly moved toward her. Intelligent jade eyes surveyed him through the thick bangs. A shy smile appeared on her lips. "Hi."

Quince almost took a step back. "You... You're not Stefa. But you're her."

Maureen nodded her head. "I am," she agreed. "I guess, sometimes, you can't always jump to conclusions, hm?" She promptly stood up and dusted off her knees before walking toward him.

_**We'll be halfway to anywhere,**_

"Are you... real?" asked Quince with hesitance. The last time he had seen Maureen, she had been stabbed by Dennis and disappeared in an explosion of white feathers.

The shy smile turned into a wry one. "Are you?" she asked before hugging him, resting her head against his chest.

_**Where love is more than just your name.**_

_**

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**_**A/n: Definitely not the original plan for the chapter. Another short one, mainly because I would quite like to go to bed. Obviously I've been playing Days a lot. The 'obvious' part of it probably won't make sense until much later... At any rate, hope you enjoyed. Please review! **


	11. It's Only the Real World

**Chapter Eleven:**  
It's Only the Real World

**A/n: I appreciate the loyal-ness of you guys. I apologize for how long this update has taken, but I'm pleased that I still have people reading. :D I have really great ideas for this story and for the next one. But I am so done with this series after the next story. xD' I'm just happy no one's gotten -too- sick of it. Happy 2010, by the by! Onto the chapter~.**

**Disclaimer - Nope. Don't own KH.**

_'I gasp and hold my breath,_

_These needs had changed so deep._

_To face you all and say_

_I've been awake for..._

_ever.'_

**-"Sleep Apnea" by Chevelle**

**

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**

"Looks can be deceiving, Quince," a voice, similar to Stefa's, informed him. He stepped away from Maureen and looked around. She laughed, the woman-who-was-not-quite-Stefa, and said, "You look guilty."

"He can't be, I'm not real... I'm the only thing here that's not, but he doesn't even realize it," whispered Maureen as if she were confiding this in the voice while pretending Quince was not there. "You, on the other hand..."

Quince's brown eyes became hopeful as they widened. "That _is _you, Stef?"

"Not quite," another voice, either Kairi or Laine's, corrected him. "Look." Quince took a few steps backward as the floor became engulfed by purple flames. They didn't hurt, but he felt a strange longing to run his hand through them, to grasp their power...

The platform now depicted all the girls. All meaning Stefa, Nalani, Kairi, Naminé, Elie and Reixka as teenagers. Nalani stood to Stefa's right, and Reixka to the left. To left of Kairi was Laine with Naminé to her right. A black outline stood behind them. Beside Nalani was Elie and behind her was Niemach. Between Stefa and Reixka was, what looked like, a child's drawing of a small female stick figure. It was so small that Quince nearly missed it, but it was, undeniably, there.

Behind all of them was a burning phoenix.

"You know so very little, Quince..." A new voice declared. It was amused and a tad demented-sounding.

"Dennis?" Quince turned only to be pushed off the pillar.

**XxxxxX**

The Radiant Garden's marketplace was teeming with Heartless when Kiera, Ryley, and the dogs landed. Kiera's jaw literally fell open while Ryley whistled. "We have our work cut out for us, huh?" he remarked.

"No way," replied Kiera before grabbing Ryley's hand. "We run like hell."

"In what world is that going to work?" demanded Ryley as he turned toward her. The dogs were standing in front of them with their heads hanging over the ledge. Heartless jumped up at them with their claws every once in a while, and the dogs snarled as the fur on their backs rose. "No, we have to stop and fight..."

"...Over and over? These Heartless aren't going to disappear. While we stand here and fight, the Heartless are going to respawn, and we'll become exhausted. Then, when we collapse, they'll steal our hearts and that will be the end of that."

Ryley opened his mouth to protest. "That won't happen."

"Why? You're forgetting that no one's going to be here to save us. The Radiant Garden looks like this," Kiera gestured to the center of the Marketplace, and to the shops that were being ransacked by the Heartless, "everywhere. Not just here. No one is going to swing in and rescue us." Essence of the Heart flashed into her hand, and she gripped it tightly for comfort. "So we'll kill whatever Heartless we need to in order for us to get down to Merlin's. But, otherwise, there's no point in wearing ourselves out. More so than we -- or at least I -- may or may not already be."

Kiera was fighting to keep her eyes open, Ryley finally noticed. With the immediate danger of the Heartless, though, she seemed to be able to stick to keeping herself awake a little more. "Alright. Let's make a run for it."

**XxxxxX**

Christian stared up at the sterile, white ceiling of his new bedroom. He was almost completely positive that he had been in this place -- wherever it was -- for almost a day. Only? Everything seemed to be passing slowly although a lot had happened quickly. He was king of the clubs, and Lomura Kai was his. Now, he was sitting in a completely white room, left to do absolutely nothing. And, to make matters worse, he had met and lost one of the few girls that he had ever truly liked. It was a crappy start to winter break, that was for sure. Why did he even get a winter break, he wondered now. It didn't really snow in Lomura Kai.

It just kind of, sort of snowed. It was a beautiful sight when it snowed over the ocean. At least, he thought so. "Damn, I need to get out of here. This place feels like an asylum."

_'How would you feel if you knew you were being used?' _A female's voice purred. _'Would you retaliate by coloring your white walls with their blood? No... You're much too bland for that. Way too boring.'_

"Am I going crazy? Who's talking?" demanded Christian as he sprung up on his four-poster bed and looked around, wildly, for the source of the voice. He heard a giggle.

_'The first sign of insanity is not necessarily hearing voices, but responding to them like you're real. Oh, how cute. Insanity is, after all, a genetic thing. Or so I've heard. I, personally, don't really know.' _

Christian knew the voice was right, which further confirmed his steady fall into madness. "Do you have a name?" he asked tiredly. Real or not, he craved for some type of company. He rubbed his face and shook his head. "Shit. I have to stop. This is really kind of scary."

_'But oh-so funny,' _remarked the voice. _'Me? You can call me... Ah, Ciara. Why not? That's a nice name, right?'_

"You don't know your name?"

_'You care that your imaginary friend is having trouble picking a name? Because it sounds more like a personal problem,' _answered Ciara with a playful laugh. _'So, Christian. Tell me about yourself, since you have nothing better to do than to talk to a shadow of reality, anyway.'_

"Huh?"

Ciara sounded slightly annoyed when she replied, _'That would sort of be the definition of imaginary friend, good buddy.'_

"Oh. Well, in that case..."

Outside of the room was Farkas with a grin on his face while his arms folded across his chest. "What a joke, this kid is..."

**XxxxxX**

A pile of blankets covered Quince on the couch of Merlin's house while half of the group stood in the room, leaving the other half to either converse in Merlin's kitchen or at Cloud's house. "Isn't there anything you can do, Merlin?" inquired Rikku, who was bent over Quince with a concerned expression. "He's been out for a while now."

Merlin patted down his beard and straightened his glasses. "I'm afraid not, my dear. It must be the shock of losing his children, or some other medical cause," remarked the wizard without truly sounding convinced of what he was saying.

Paine raised an eyebrow. "What do you think is going on?"

The wizard coughed, took off his glasses, and proceeded to clean them. "Well, I think that some medical cause could be possible, but..."

"It's more likely that the stress is causing Quince's heart to call out to the darkness for strength," murmured Naminé, who was sitting on the arm of one of the couches, beside Kairi. Everyone's eyes were suddenly on her. "It makes sense, doesn't it? When Quince ever needed help in the past, he would turn to the darkness. I'm really not so sure that he's given that up, even after all these years."

Nalani's nails were practically biting into Caleb's wrist, making him finally pull his hand away. "But he's--"

"It's not a matter of good and bad," said Holly before Nalani could even finish her sentence. "You know that." Nalani nodded. Yeah, she did. "I mean, think about it. Didn't Quince turn to the darkness in Twilight Town after Stefa disappeared with Arach? He did it for a noble cause, but he still used it nonetheless."

"There wasn't any other choice," protested Kairi.

"Are you really sure about that?" replied Holly. "Because I'm pretty sure everyone was aware that Stefa was a big girl..."

"...Who has had a tendency to slip through the cracks and mess up and get in trouble a lot," finished Sage as he exited the kitchen. "And, even though I love Arach and shit, there was a point in my life where I was afraid to be alone with him, let alone have my sorta-kinda weak girlfriend be alone with him in the Dark Realm."

Naminé coughed quietly. "We're veering off course a little, and this is starting to sound a little bit like a Stefa roast, so... Let's change the subject?" At that moment, someone -- or something -- banged on the door.

"Change of subject," murmured Maggie in a quite, brusque tone. She wrenched open the door, only to be tackled by Midnight and Misti. A good majority of the room immediately laughed until a few of them identified the dogs.

Nalani jumped out of her seat and quickly crossed the threshold. "Misti? Midnight?! What the...?" Kiera and Ryley quickly ushered themselves into the house, slamming the door behind them. "...You're alive!" shouted Nalani before seizing Kiera in a bone-crushing hug.

Kiera coughed. "Aunt Nala? I can't breathe. Honest."

"Aw, you're fine," replied Nalani happily before squeezing a little harder. She released Kiera and turned toward Ryley, who threw up his hands in surrender.

"No, I'm fine, thanks," he remarked with a sheepish grin. Naminé and Kairi quickly joined Nalani and did a quick one-over of the teenagers.

When she determined they were alright, Kairi shouted, "Riku, I've got a really great surprise for you!" The kitchen door swung open once more as Arach and Laurence entered the living room. "Riku left with Cloud, Sora, Roxas, and the others. Remember?"

"I do now," mumbled Kairi as she visually deflated. "Damn."

Reixka moved across the room and pointed her index finger within dangerous proximity to Kiera and Ryley's eyes. "Where the hell were you two?"

"Captain Jack Sparrow..."

"...Slash Captain Barbossa's ship," answered Ryley. "The _Black Pearl._"

Nalani blinked. "So, you went to Port Royal...?"

The duo shook their heads. "There was this thing with police, but that doesn't matter," remarked Kiera at Reixka and Nalani's slightly angry stares. "We stopped off on this ship that was literally floating in space."

Kairi rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I guess if Monstro could do it, then..."

"It was a very eye-opening experience," murmured Kiera. "Mom was always so excited when she told me the pirate adventures that she went on. We got to watch a drunken man fight with another man over who was captain while we swabbed the deck; I was disappointed." Her eyes lit up and her head tilted upwards as she realized why she and Ryley had made the journey to the Radiant Garden. "But enough about that! When I was walking the dogs, I was attacked by a pack of Heartless, and Laine showed up out of the blue. She told me that she had--"

"--fused with Jewel's Grove. We heard," replied Reixka. "She and Quince already explained, but we're not exactly sure to do about what we know."

Kiera's eyes wandered around the room, and she hated herself for asking, but she murmured, "Have you heard a thing about mom?"

"Nothing. But with all this madness going on right now, I would be forced to say that it's a good thing," remarked Nalani.

Ryley's eyebrows knitted together suddenly. "You mentioned something about Dad. Where is he?"

Nalani chewed on the inside of her cheek. "That's where it gets a little... iffy. Your dad sort of collapsed a little while ago, and he hasn't woken up yet. When my sister and I used to jump on our dad when he was sleeping, he always woke up in a great cheer. Well, okay, maybe not... But if you do it right now, I bet he'll be in a good mood. He's been worried sick about you two."

Ryley and Kiera moved to the couch without another word. They stared at Quince's unconscious form for a moment, not too sure what to do about it. "Water," murmured Yuna from somewhere else in the room. A splash of water fell from midair, onto Quince's face. Unfortunately for him, he had jumped into a sitting position just a moment before the water hit him. Quince coughed and wiped the water off of his face.

"What the fuck?" demanded Quince at the same time as someone asked Yuna, "Why did you think of that sooner?" Quince's eyes fell upon the two teenagers standing over him, and he immediately jumped up, forgetting the dream he had just a moment before. "You two. Explain yourselves."

Kiera leaned on the heels of her feet in order to stare at Nalani with an eyebrow raised. "What happened to worried sick?"

"We had to make a pit stop to do some hard labor. It all started with the police, but everything's alright now," reassured Ryley.

"What did you do?" demanded Quince.

"Insulted the teacher in front of the whole class," blurted out Kiera without meaning to. Her hands quickly covered her mouth, and Ryley began to roar with laughter beside her. "I didn't mean to say that."

Nalani shook her head. "This is why your mom and I had a hard time getting into real trouble at school. When it happened, and we wanted to keep it a secret, we would accidentally blurt it out to our parents."

Kiera smiled at Quince. "I didn't mean to say that. I only meant, uh... 'ow you doin'?"

At this moment, Maggie began to groan from the doorway where the dogs were still licking her face. No one turned to pay attention to her. "So, can we be filled in on what's going on? Like why everyone's here instead of their vacation sites?"

The stairs creaked, drawing the room's attention to Camilla. "Oh, Kiera! Kiera, I'm so glad to see you. Come upstairs! Come on!" She repeated, waving her hands urgently. Kiera flashed a smile at Ryley and Quince before quickly hopping up the stairs to join her best friend. "I have something really important to tell you..."

**XxxxxX**

"Personally, I think you can only know a man if you know the man, you know?" Farkas informed Saïx and Xemnas, who were still sifting through various videos of young Dennis. "Besides, isn't that why you have me? I know a lot about the guy."

Saïx barely spared him a glance. "That may be true, but we need to know the essence of Dennis. No one knows that but him."

"Bullshit," replied Farkas, sounding truly annoyed. "Not even he knew. He was off his rocker! Why do you two want to know so much about him? How will it help you?"

Xemnas paused the video and physically turned his body towards Farkas. "There are quite a few reasons. For one, he is likely one of the biggest dangers out there. If anyone like him were to ever rise again, we would need to know how to take care of them."

"Bullshit," repeated Farkas with even more force. "No one like that guy will ever come back. He was one of a kind, insane out of his fuckin' mind or not. I know what you two want..." He smiled, revealing his teeth. "You want to have that same kind of power as him. You want to be able to make sure that this new world you're creating will have everyone bowing to you. That you'll have full-proof power and be able to knock down anyone who turns against you. Hate to disappoint you two," continued Farkas as he sat himself in a chair and leaned back on its hind legs, "but Cane always knew what everyone was going to do before they did it. He was five steps ahead of them all. That takes skill and a different mind. You two are still Nobodies at heart, so you could never do it."

Farkas yawned, stretching his arms over his head as he stood and headed for the door. "Don't feel bad, though. I think there's only one person in the world who can do it. One who's as twisted as Cane with a just-as twisted mother. Enjoy your home movies. I'll be in town."

Saïx and Xemnas turned toward each other as the door slammed close. "What if he's right?" wondered Saïx.

"He's not. There are a few like what he described, I think. And, if they don't work out, in order to bring a person to that level of... insanity, all you need to do is break them. I know how much you enjoy that, Saïx. If you doubt me, however, might I suggest you just walk out that door? Who knows, maybe you could make something of yourself out there, hm? Other than what you are now which, I suppose, is my wing man."

"Your co-worker," reminded Saïx in a mostly impassive tone. "The one who has allowed you to get this far, who has worked day and night to make sure that everything has worked out for you."

A smirk was on Xemnas' face as he turned the movie back on. "Of course. Now, co-worker, I think we need to start securing the weaker areas. You do know what I mean, don't you?"

A wide grin appeared on Saïx's face. "I thought you'd never ask."

**XxxxxX**

"And he's been working with Xemnas?" asked Kiera once Camilla had finished explaining to her what had been occurring in Lomura Kai. "For how long?"

Camilla shook her head as she sat on the bed, her black converse kicking against the side of it. "I'm not sure. Honestly, I don't think it's been very long." At Kiera's puzzled expression, she elaborated, "He's not that great with a keyblade." Kiera began to giggle, causing Camilla to glance at her and roll her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that." This only succeeded in making Kiera laugh harder. Before either of them knew it, they were laying back on the bed, laughing so loudly that they did not hear Caleb and Anali enter. Camilla sprang upwards and, in the same movement, hurled a pillow at the door. "Have you heard of knocking?" she demanded as she wiped a tear from her eye.

Kiera took in a few deep breaths and also sat up as her cousin and Camilla's twin closed the door. "Is there a reason for why you two are laughing like madmen?" wondered Anali.

"It's gotta be the coke," concluded Caleb.

"Coca Cola," remarked Camilla although even the remark sounded like a question.

"Nope, not that kind," answered Caleb as he sat on the bed. "Does anyone exactly know what's going on?" he asked the room at large.

Anali nodded as she sat beside Kiera. "Sure. The apocalypse is coming. Our final hour is upon us. And all that good stuff." She blinked and her eyebrows furrowed together. "Man, I sound like Deirdre."

"She doesn't look quite as... chipper... as she used to," murmured Camilla. "I feel badly for her." Kiera and Anali could hear Camilla's true sympathy and knew that it sprung from the fact that the same thing could have happened to her and Caleb. All of the children -- Kiera, Ryley, and Camilla specifically -- had acted foolishly during their first adventure. Even though they were armed with weapons, they had no clue how to use them; they had the wrong mindset for fighting in the first place. And, of course, none of them had expected how deep the ties between Cane and everyone else ran.

How Cane could father Ryley was way beyond Kiera. "I'm not exactly eager to go talk to Qui-- Dad," amended Kiera. "So I'm going to bed, since I'm guessing this is where we're staying anyway."

"We're staying with Tifa and Cloud," stated Caleb. "Dad muttered something about not wanting to stay with crazy old Merlin and his drunken actions." The four of them simply stared at each other for a moment before roaring with laughter. They had all heard stories about Merlin and his 'elixirs.' Kiera hopped off the bed and started for the door.

"See you guys either later or tomorrow," she called over her shoulder. As she stepped into the hallway, she was somewhat surprised to find Aerith waiting for her. Aerith was leaning against the wall opposite of Camilla's 'room.' Her eyes were staring at the floor and her eyes were folded over her chest; she looked quite thoughtful and a whole lot like Cloud. "Aerith?"

Aerith brought her eyes up to Kiera's gleaming, seafoam ones. A smile twitched at the corner's of her lips. "So your Dad's pretty insistent on staying over her. I'm guessing it's because Riku's staying with us," she added with a playful grin. "I thought I would show you a room that you would like?" Kiera's eyebrows knitted together, but she agreed and followed the older blonde down the hallway. She stopped at a door with a heart painted upon it. It had a purple center with a lilac outline. "Merlin's so sentimental. He's kept most of the rooms -- which he doesn't even use -- in the shape that they were left."

Kiera immediately understood and was abruptly hesitant to enter the room. "Don't be such a baby. Get in there. You said you were tired, didn't you?" Aerith opened the door and all but shoved her younger companion inside before re-closing the door. Kiera glanced around the room. As she entered and the door closed, a magnificent cloud of dust rose, and she choked.

"Sort of no wonder why Merlin doesn't get any guests," remarked Kiera between coughs as she attempted to wave some of the dust out of her way as she headed for the bathroom. When she flipped on the light, she was greeted by another cloud of dust. Kiera immediately got over the fact and dipped her head in front of sink as she turned on the water. She splashed some water on her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Instead of seeing herself, she saw a girl of more or less the same height with silky, curly hair. Her hair a pale blond and had lavender streaks running through it. Kiera's eyes widened, and she straightened up in an attempt to get a better look at the reflection. With the blink of her eyes, the lavender-streaked girl was already gone. "I really need sleep."

**XxxxxX**

Christian often found that sleeping was a good way to deal with boredom, particularly in school. And, seeing as how his living with Xemnas, Saïx, and the wolfman was supposed to be some sort of learning experience, he decided to deal with the inactivity with a nap. He hadn't really counted on the strangeness of the dream. He found himself in a barren desert, one that was, for the most part, lacking sand. A boy that he did not recognize, one who was relatively tall, on the skinnier side was waving at him from a distant part of the desert. His lips were moving urgently, but no words were coming out. He was wearing a pair of baggy, dark jeans hanging somewhat down his hips, a muscle tee, and a turquoise baseball cap.

As he didn't recognize him, Christian ignored the boy all together. He felt a sudden urge to head north, so he started in that direction, only to be stopped by Maggie. Her arms were thrown out, and she was wearing her usual white sun dress. "Christian, don't do this," she pleaded. She looked all wrong. Her eyes had less shadows under them, and her lips were a coral color instead of their usual cherry color. In fact, she looked quite a bit younger. "Stay out of there."

"Out of where?" he asked her, glancing up to realize that his vision of the north had been blocked by a sandstorm. As Maggie warned him not to go there, the storm cleared up, and he felt an even stronger urge to go there. Christian pushed past her, ignoring her pleas, and noted that the area she did not want him to visit was a cemetery. A good deal of gravestones (all above ground, tall ones) were ahead of him and, beyond them, there was an ancient-looking carnival. It was in obvious disrepair.

A girl was strolling through the cemetery, looking as happy as could be. Her hair smooth-looking from the distance, a pale blond with striking lavender streaks running through it. It was smashed against the back of her head in a twisted fashion. She wore irises and gypsophila in her hair. Strangest of all about the girl was that she was wearing a long, strapless indigo dress and her feet were bare. It looked like she had just escaped from a wedding. Her eyes were mostly closed, preventing Christian from seeing the color, and she looked like she was enjoying herself quite a bit. Christian hurried to join her, but he felt something stop him from moving.

Christian glanced down to see the parched, cracked ground beneath him had exploded and an arm had reached from underground to grab him. He should have been worried, but he could not really dig for that emotion at the moment. The arm did not look like it had really decayed, and he noted that the person holding him was wearing a quarter-sleeve, yellow shirt. He could also make out a bit of red hair, but the figure was overall successful in hiding herself while holding him still. He glanced back up and found the girl staring at him with an inviting smile.

She was waving at him, but he would not have joined her even if he wasn't being anchored to the ground. The beautiful girl had no irises in her eyes. They were completely white.

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**A/n: I actually really liked this chapter. The very end was my favorite, of course. x3 And I thought the song (or at least the posted lyris) was effective... but you may not see that until the end of the story. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review!**


	12. We Cut Ties

**Chapter Twelve:**

We Cut Ties

**A/n: So I'm at this point in school where I really have just stopped paying attention in certain classes for the most part and revert back to my Freshman way of daydreaming about my fanfiction. It's great. Not only for me, but for all of you! This chapter would have been up much sooner if I didn't have a tendency to get really easily distracted... Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer - Don't own KH. Seriously. I know, it's shocking to hear after all these years.**

_"(...) Everything's just... well, odd. I don't seem... I'm not even sure I know who I am..." _

_"Well, we can certainly straighten you out on that."_

**-Unknown**

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There was a moment when Kiera first awoke that she was in full-blown panic mode. The room she awoken in lacked the blue curtains and walls. She did not awake to the sun casting a soft glow through the curtains, making the room look like it was underwater. Instead, the walls were a light purple color, and the curtains were long and white. Not to mention that this room, unlike her own, was covered in a thick layer of dust and missed the hundreds of "tasteful" decorations she had.

An additional fact of her house was that a man wearing a long, billowing blue robe with matching hat did not usually lean over her while she was asleep, nor did a long, white beard usually scratch her face. Kiera jumped up, her seafoam eyes immediately alert until she relaxed with the realization that it was Merlin. Until, that is, she recalled details about "Merlin and his elixirs." "Are you drunk?" she immediately asked.

The old sorcerer's eyes widened as he straightened up and adjusted his glasses. "Why, no, no I am not. In fact, I was told to wake you up so that you do not... What was it they said? Burned away the daylight hours? Something of that sort," muttered Merlin as he scratched his beard. "You are going out on a mission, I hear."

"A mission?" repeated Kiera, unable to decide whether or not this was a good thing. She could still, for the most part, wield Essence of the Heart like it was an additional limb, but the whole fighting thing wasn't something she was still good at. Her magic had also fallen into oblivion since Quince had insisted that she had to fill her mind with unimportant things, like Advanced Algebra formulas.

Like that had happened. All Kiera remembered from that class was the way her teacher shouted the various days of the week. "Come now, missy. Get up before your father comes up here and drags you downstairs."

"Which one?" asked Kiera tiredly. "Okay. Tell them I'll be down in a minute. Where am I going?"

"That I didn't catch. Wherever it is, I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Kiera nodded as she flipped her body so that her feet were touching the periwinkle-colored carpet. "Yeah, that's what I thought about Barbossa and Jack, and all I got was a bunch of lousy voodoo stuff."

**XxxxxX**

"How nice to see you are awake, Christian," came Xemnas' drawl as the kitchen door swung open to reveal a very tired, disheveled Christian. Dark circles were under his eyes, and his hair was standing up every which way. Xemnas looked up from the newspaper he was reading to examine Christian. "Sleep well?" he added with a smirk.

"Never better," answered Christian without changing his expression before seating himself at the table. "So, what's for breakfast?"

"That's what's on your mind?" asked Saïx who, Christian noted, was standing at the stovetop with a spatula in hand. The picture made it difficult for him to visualize the man wielding a large, deadly claymore, especially while wearing the pink apron. "You're not curious about what we have planned for you?"

Christian raised his eyebrows as he pushed his chair onto its back legs. He could not balance the chair well, and it immediately hit the floor with a loud bang. "Oh, there's a plan today?"

"Not with that attitude," mumbled Saïx as he flipped over a pancake.

"Yes, there is," answered Xemnas, who spoke over Saïx. "Today you will be going through a training session with Farkas as you are completely hopeless in a battle. Eventually, when you are more skilled, we will send you to one of the more unruly worlds. Your presence will be vital as our power continues to strengthen, for the people will increase their efforts to break away."

Christian groaned. "But, in the meantime, I'm training with the madman. Why him?"

"Because Xemnas or I may 'accidentally' injure you while sparring," remarked Saïx as he killed the gas and brought a few plates to the table where Christian and Saïx were seated.

He looked up at the amber-eyed man square in the eye. "And you don't think Farkas will do the same?"

"No, as the Super--Xemnas has a theory about Farkas." Two pairs of eyes traveled to the newspaper, which was currently acting as a wall.

Xemnas lowered the paper ever so slightly. "Indeed. The man obviously likes you, Christian. Whether it is because you are a clean slate to corrupt or something else, I do not know. If it is the former, then I am sure you can withstand his tactics. It is quite strange, however. Farkas is not fond of people, particularly humans."

"Guess I'm just a special case," mumbled Christian as he forked some sausage and sunny-side up eggs onto his porcelain plate. Saïx and Xemnas barely put anything onto their plates. "Aren't you hungry?"

Xemnas shrugged somewhat. "With the form, appetite did not quite return," he admitted. "When you are finished, head into the basement to begin your training."

"Oh, boy."

**XxxxxX**

Ryley was slow to lug himself out of bed, even after several visits from Yuffie and, finally, Leon, who threatened to drag him downstairs. A modest knock on the bedroom door finally convinced him to get out of bed. He was only clad in a pair of basketball shorts and a muscle shirt, but he couldn't really find a point in getting dressed quite yet. The person standing in his doorway looked nervous as the door swung open, but her expression immediately shifted to embarrassed. She turned her head, her braid swinging behind her in the process. "Do you think it's a good idea to be running around without clothes on?" demanded Kiera scornfully. Her cheeks were bright red.

He raised his eyebrows and looked down. "I was under the impression that I was wearing clothes. I didn't know you had x-ray vision. Nor did I think you'd want to waste it on me, cos."

Kiera flashed him a bitter smile. "How'd that talk go with Dad, by the way?"

"Oh, he'll let you have it, don't worry. You hardly got out of anything, dear," answered Ryley with a grin. "Anyway, can I help you?"

She nodded. "I was sent to get your ass out of bed, but you seem to have some problems with that today, huh? This is only your fifth or so warning, right?"

"Weird dream sort of drained me, I guess," he admitted. "Some girl named Ciara was in it. I don't remember much more than that, though."

Kiera shrugged. "Then, it probably wasn't too important, then. Not to wave off your concerns, or anything," she added. Although she could perfectly recall the face in the mirror, Kiera opted not to bring it up. "Come downstairs so we can be charged with our missions already. I want to get out of this place and to somewhere warm ASAP."

As she turned and began to start down the hall, Ryley poked his head outside of his room. "I thought we were done fighting?"

"Yeah. I guess I must be PMS-y, or something."

**XxX**

When Kiera returned to the living room, she collapsed back onto the couch, practically laying herself over Camilla. "He won't get his ass down here, so can we just get started?" she demanded of Leon, who was standing in the center of the room. She caught Camilla's eye rather quickly, a quizzical expression on the other girl's face. Kiera's eyebrows knitted together for a minute as she tried to figure out what had her so on edge this morning. As Leon began to speak, she ran a hand through her silky hair. She twisted a strand before her eyes and noted the black with some annoyance: oh, how she missed her plain, blond hair.

"Unfortunately, we did not find many important documents yesterday, so we'll have to settle for good old-fashioned detective work. Does anyone oppose this?" asked Leon of the room at large. Camilla thought to raise her hand for a moment before deciding that the majority of the room, already snappy at eight in the morning, would probably kill her. She remained blessedly silent, unlike Naomi, who was banging her large, rainbow-colored lollipop against the wooden floor. Arach, being the wonderful father he was, decided that eating a lollipop that had sat on the floor numerous times was still safe enough for his baby to consume. Likewise, he had decided that eating a lollipop was an equally good idea for the developing child.

"For the time being, I think it would be safest to stick to the worlds that we know, where we're familiar with the people," continued Leon, "but don't forget that danger now lies in every world. There isn't a safe place anymore with whatever is exactly going on."

Nalani sat on a different couch, beside Elie, her chin resting on her hand. Her forearm was slipping as she stared at Leon. She could not help but notice how his and Cloud's doom-and-gloom attitudes had returned with a vengeance. Another thing she could not stop herself from noticing was the age on everyone's appearance and expressions. Leon's brown hair was graying in places from, naturally, the stress but also from his age. And she, herself, was not so much younger than him. They had even dated for a while. She pursed her lips as she went over what were really unimportant things considering the problems they had hovering over them. It was just something that she couldn't ignore.

And she could have been laughing at it with Stefa right about now had the last time she spoken her best friend been a year or so ago. Nalani slumped further in her seat. "Can we get on with this already?" she huffed under her breath. Elie patted her on the arm.

Kairi, who was standing behind that couch, nodded her agreement. "Yeah, you don't really need to repeat this stuff to us every thirty minutes, Leon. Just tell us where we should go so that we can get actual answers." Across the room, Kiera was happy to note that she was not the only one in a sour mood.

A grin briefly appeared on Leon's face before he became serious once again. "I guess I should send you guys out before you start at each other's throats. Cid, can you pull up a list of the worlds?"

The grouchy blond grunted from the computer screen before his fingers started hard at work on the keyboard. "It's just a good thing that Riku's not here," mumbled Elie, which did not go unnoticed by Quince.

"Why? Because you know that I could beat him to a pulp?"

"This is not about beating each other," hissed Kairi as she inclined her head in Kiera's general direction. "Particularly with your daughter perfectly within earshot. Got it? You two need to be straightened out."

Nalani nodded. "I'm pretty sick of the petty fighting, myself."

"We just need to whip Quince here into shape. You know," Elie paused as she waved an invisible whip with her hand, making the appropriate whip sound as she did so. Nalani and Kairi laughed.

"That's why we keep you around," admitted Sora, earning himself a glare from Elie.

"Alright. Olympus Coliseum will be Sora, Naminé, and Nalani. Any problems?" added Leon. The trio shook their heads. "Okay. Enchanted Dominion will be Kairi, Arach, and Demyx." Kairi murmured something under her breath about the "injustice of it all." "Roxas, Axel, and Maggie can go to Deep Jungle. Atlantica for Holly, Quince, and Riku."

"Atlantica?" groaned Holly. "Do you really hate me that much?"

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Would you like a different world."

"No, no, whatever," she murmured.

"Reixka, Laine, and Sage will go to The Land of Dragon's. And, finally, Laurence... You can go with Kairi, Arach, and Demyx. Everyone understand?" Camilla raised her hand, slowly, like Leon might hit her if it shot into the air. "Yes, Camilla?"

Camilla chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment. "So, uh, what about the rest of us? You know, the six billion kids whose parents are leaving them behind."

Leon smiled for a minute. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you guys." His head turned and his eyes settled on Cloud, who was leaning against the wall near the computer. Cloud nodded.

"Aerith?" he called.

The kitchen door swung open and Aerith, wearing a pair of sleek black jeans, a camo tee, and a black ninja headband. Her Apocalypse sword was sheathed in the scabbard on her back. In short, Aerith looked like she meant serious business. **(A/n: And this is when 50 Cent begins to sing in "Crack a Bottle" by Eminem... xD) **"Is she going to beat us up?" asked Caleb as he looked around the room.

Aerith smiled sweetly as she stopped before Caleb. She cracked her knuckles in his face and stretched. "Nah. I'm going to whip you guys into top-fighting shape."

Kiera turned toward Quince immediately. "Please take me with you. I'm sorry for just leaving Jewel's Grove without telling you. I'll never do it again."

"No, I think this is a pretty fitting punishment, you know?" answered Quince with a grin. "A little discipline will do you some good. In fact, I think your mother would find this quite fitting."

Yuffie snorted. "Why? He went easy on Stefa _always._"

Quince fought down the urge to react immaturely and instead shrugged. "Let's go gather up Riku, Holly. We have a fun journey ahead of us."

"We sure do," she mumbled under her breath before heading for the door, pinning her bangs up as she did so.

"Y'all better figure out your driving plans, 'cause I'm not loaning out my Gummi ships!" shouted Cid as a good majority of the group filed out of the house.

Nalani waved her hand. "Yeah, yeah, Cid. You and your precious ships. You realize that no one takes you seriously anymore, right?" The pilot frowned at her, but she didn't notice as she had turned toward Yuna. "Hey, you don't mind watching Naomi for me, do you?"

"Mom, we would love to watch our precious little sister," offered Kaspar as he pushed Caleb and Camilla before him. Naomi had thrown the lollipop away at one point and was now working on beheading a doll that strangely resembled Hannah Montana.

A grin spread across Nalani's face. "Oh, no," she replied. "I want all of your time and energy to be spent on becoming the best wielders you can be. I think Camilla got off a little too easily with Cane, Aerith, so you should work extra hard on her, Kiera, and Ryley."

"Easily?!" demanded Kiera and Camilla.

"I would love to watch Naomi, Nalani," replied Yuna with a smile.

Rikku grinned, bouncing from one foot to the other; her energy had not faded with her age. "We'll take extra good care of her, promise!"

This declaration made Nalani slightly nervous, but she did not say so to the somewhat temperamental Al Bhed. "'Kay. You all be good now, y'hear? Work hard," she added, dragging the 'a' out for much longer than it needed to be. "See ya."

"You know, at this point in time, I have to wonder where my own little siblings are," remarked Kiera. "Maybe Holly and Dad forgot them."

"Your cousin's watching them," informed Kairi from the doorway. "You know, Kath. Needless to say, they aren't really happy with the cold and she's not really happy with the amount of Heartless."

Kiera bit her lip. "Do you think they'll be okay?"

Kairi nodded. "I'm sure. If not, we'll get them and bring them here. Take care." The room was much emptier than it had been minutes ago, and Ryley still had not retreated from his room. Kiera puffed her cheeks out as she blew some air through her mouth.

"Just think happy thoughts," Anali remarked with a grin as she leaned on her cousin. "Aerith can't be that tough."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," said Kaspar, who was sprawled across the couch. "So, have fun with the training."

"What are you talking about, Kaspar?" wondered Aerith, her eyebrows furrowed together.

Kaspar blinked up at her. "Just that you're going off with them to train, that's all."

"Oh, you're so cute. You think you're getting out of it."

"Excuse me?"

"You're coming with, Kaspar." As Aerith dragged him off of the couch, a long string of expletives were muttered under his breath. "So, I'll be at the Postern. I want you all to meet me within oh, say, thirty minutes. So, get all of your shit together, eat and whatever, and meet me there pronto. Don't just dilly-dally around if you aren't doing anything, either. Carpe diem! Let's go, Kaspar."

Kaspar groaned. "I'm not looking forward to this work..."

"Cave laborem," sighed Caleb, earning himself a few looks from his sister, girlfriend, and Kiera. "What?"

"What's that mean?" wondered Kiera.

"Beware of work. Aerith told me a word or so... or a few hundred phrases, alright?" muttered Caleb with a blush. "Let's go eat before she works us to death."

**XxxxxX**

Christian found that Xemnas and Saïx, for all of their stealth and quietness, were not very subtle about watching him. The fifth time or so that he caught either of the men staring at him, he pushed away the plate and stood up at the same time. "Well, I guess I'll head down to the basement. Are you going to follow me and watch my very move there, too?" he demanded, his exasperation and annoyance clear in his voice.

Xemnas chuckled. "Don't take it so personally, Christian. We're scientists; observing is what we do."

"Well, I feel like a caged animal at the zoo," he mumbled in response before shrugging. "Maybe I'll adjust."

Saïx smirked somewhat. "In due time, I am sure. Now, you should get going before Farkas loses his patience and takes off." Christian nodded, putting his hands in his jean pockets as he exited the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of light blue, baggy jeans that hung down somewhat to reveal checkered red boxers. "I don't think I'll ever understand that style," complained Saïx.

"You will have to, Saïx, because I'm giving you another task. I believe analyzing Christian may prove quite significant to our success. Had we done the same with the rest of the Organization, we may have had less problems concerning betrayal. Will you be able to handle that, Saïx?"

Saïx's answered with a smile that bared his teeth. "Of course, sir," came the reply, his teeth clenching together.

Christian continued through the large dining room and exited into the long hallway. He looked around before turning right. The mansion was gargantuan in its size, and Christian had no idea how he was supposed to find the basement. He could not even understand how Saïx and Xemnas managed without a butler, or cook, or maid, and whatever else huge houses usually had. Then, he realized that Farkas would probably harm any human in the house with, of course, the exception of him. Because he was important, he was _special. _But why?

He finally found a door directly at the end of the hall and decided to take a chance on taking it. The corridor was relatively dark, but Christian could tell that the staircase he was now standing on wound downwards, further into the darkness. When he reached the landing, he realized that it was still too dark, for the most part, to get around safely. Looking around, Christian happened upon a lantern, filled with oil, and some matches. "That's lucky," he noted before grabbing a match, taking the lantern, and lighting it. The basement -- or wherever he was -- was suddenly ten times brighter, and he could finally see his hand in front of his face. On either side of the corridor that he was standing in were... jail cells. Christian blinked. "I don't think this is the basement."

_'Keep going,' _a female voice ordered him. Christian jumped somewhat and looked around. _'I'm all in your mind, remember, buddy?' _He nodded, recalling Ciara, trying not to dwell on the fact that he was regarding a voice in his head as a good thing. But, in the creepy dungeon that he was standing in, the fact was currently a plus.

"Going? Where? Is the training room through this place or something?" asked Christian as he continued to walk, pointing his lantern at most of the cells he passed. When he looked into the majority of them, Dusks that had been inside of the cell abruptly disappeared at the light; Christian fought back a shiver. When he reached the very last cell, Ciara told him to stop. "You want me to go in? Is there any particular reason for that?"

_'Aw, come on, Chris. Live a little, and trust me.'_

Christian snorted. "The voice in my head is telling me to listen to it, that's rich." Nonetheless, Christian reached out and opened the cell door, stepping on a millipede in the process. He looked around the cell, but it was empty. "Is this the part where the door swings close and locks?"

_'I appreciate your sense of humor,' _commented Ciara. As she spoke, a Shadow appeared behind Christian, who quickly turned around. The Shadow was clutching something silver and shiny between its claws, its large yellow eyes staring up at him. The Heartless did not move to attack Christian or run for him or anything of the sort; in fact, it almost seemed to be offering the object. _'Well? Take it from Trinity. He's offering it to you after all.' _

This was the point where Christian's actual mind was supposed to scream, "no" and his survival instincts were supposed to kick in so that he did not bend down and get on the Shadow's level. It was the point where he would say, "I'm done acting like an insane person, and I'm going to get the hell out of this place because it's poison." Instead, Christian bent down and took the silvery thing out of... Trinity's claws. The Shadow promptly disappeared, and Christian found himself still in one piece. As he straightened up, he raised the lantern to examine the object. It was a thin silver chain with a charm hanging on it. The charm resembled a tiny mirror with black glass. He could sort of see his reflection in it.

"A necklace?" wondered Christian.

_'It's very important that you keep that necklace and tell no one about it, okay? Very. Important. Like, if you someday found yourself face to face with that girl of yours. You definitely, especially can _not _tell her. Get it? Got it? Good.' _

"But, I don't--"

"What the hell are you doing?" Christian's head snapped in the direction of the voice so quickly that his neck cracked.

"Ow..." murmured Christian as he rubbed his neck, raising the lantern at Farkas, who waved his hand and narrowed his eyes. "Oh. Sorry." He lowered the lantern although he did catch something interesting on the wolf-man's face.

If it was not scary enough to meet Farkas in a dark dungeon, it was even worse to do so while he had blood covering his face. "Heh, sorry about that," said Farkas as he rubbed most of the blood off on the back of his sleeve. "Anyway, kid, what the hell are you doing down here?"

"I was looking for the place where I was supposed to meet you, but Xemnas wasn't very clear about the whole thing..."

Farkas chuckled. "Well, lucky for you I know where the place is. And, even better is that I ate before the training, so I won't accidentally slip up and, you know, take a bite." He laughed a booming laugh.

Christian managed a weak laugh as he exited the cell and followed Farkas. During the walk, he decided to try to list the reasons why he would rather be in this place with three crazy, strange men rather than back in Lomura Kai.

**XxxxxX**

The kids, traveling in a large pack, did not have to worry about taking Tifa or Cloud up on their offers to bring them to the Postern. They still had a difficult time beating the Heartless on the way to the Postern, but that was because they were rusty and there was an ungodly amount of the Heartless in the Radiant Garden. "Well, that was a work out," said Anali cheerfully as they reached the top of the Castle Road, in the Postern. "Why don't we all go out and buy some Sea Salt Ice Cream?"

Aerith giggled as she jumped off of the ledge of one of the walls and approached the mob. "That's really cute," she replied, smiling, before flicking Anali in the forehead. "No." Anali muttered mutinously under her breath as she rubbed her forehead and stepped beside Caleb, behind Kiera and Camilla. "Hey, where's Ryley?"

"Being a douche," answered Kiera simply. "It's cool. He can just stay there and learn how to work in the kitchen, or something."

A frown slowly appeared on Aerith's face, but she nodded all the same. "Whatever," she agreed. "In the meantime, we're going inside of the Castle."

"We are?" repeated the group at large.

"Mmhm," answered Aerith as she withdrew Apocalypse. "We'll make a game of it."

Camilla leaned into Kiera's ear and whispered, sarcastically, "Oh, I just can't wait."

**XxxxxX**

For a moment, when the Gummi Ship beamed Holly, Riku, and Quince into Atlantica, she closed her eyes and pretended that she was back on Destiny Islands were all was very simple and well. When she opened her eyes, she spotted Riku and Quince further down the beach, already bickering. Holly put her fingers to her temples and murmured, "Well, Toto, I guess we're not in Kansas anymore." She ran down the beach, kicking up sand in the process. "Can you both shut up? Thank you."

Quince and Riku stared at her for a moment before they continued. "It didn't occur to you to inform me that Kiera was in the Radiant Garden? Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. I mean, she's not technically your daughter, anyway. In fact, I think your influence is bad on her," remarked Quince, his dark brown eyes narrowed at Riku's light seafoam ones.

Riku raised his eyebrows. "Are we really going to start that argument again, Quince? Wait a second, don't answer that. Hearing your voice just pisses me off."

"So, where are we going exactly?" asked Holly sweetly, physically separating Quince and Riku by stepping between them.

"That castle," answered Riku as he gestured to the looming white building in the distance. "I'm sure Ariel knows a thing or two about what's going on."

Holly nodded as the three of them continued. "I hope she doesn't still transform into a mermaid or anything. She's got to be pretty old."

"But she's not much older than us," protested Quince.

"Time passes pretty quickly in this world," remarked Riku, the first civil sentence he had spoken to Quince all day. "When I first visited here, Ariel was already older, with a preteen daughter."

Holly considered this. "Well, Melody should, at least, be around our age. I guess we'll see when we get there." They did not have to make their way all the way up to the castle, for the woman that they were looking for was standing at the shoreline, staring into the distance without really seeing. She was wearing a long, sleeveless yellow sun dress while her long brown hair blew all around her from the ripping of the wind.

Riku could identify the woman without fail, but even he felt a little awkward when he said, "Melody?" The woman turned around slowly, and her blue eyes immediately widened. "Do you... remember who I am?"

She nodded her head vigorously. "Of course I do, Riku!" And, without another thought, she threw herself at him and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug. Or, at least, as bone-crushing as she could manage. When she released him after what seemed like ten rather awkward minutes, Melody stared at Quince and Holly with interest. "Who are your friends? And, oh, Keira! Is Keira here?"

Her eyebrows knitted together at the perplexed expressions on Riku, Quince, and Holly's faces. When the name finally registered, Riku shook his head. "It's Stefa, by the way. Long story," he added when her expression turned even more confused. "This is Holly," he began, gesturing to white-haired, brown-eyed woman. "And this is..."

"Don't tell me," said Melody as she took a few steps forward, the wind blowing her hair out of her face. She reached out and touched Quince's arm, which alarmed him a little, and nodded to herself. "I know who you are. I know it was so long ago, but I feel like Keira-- I mean, Stefa -- told me about you yesterday. You're Quince," she concluded, grinning. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Same here," he replied, smiling easily.

Riku, Holly noted, had changed his composure just a bit. He was no longer paying attention to Melody as his mind drifted off, no doubt wondering what Stefa had told Melody about Quince. She pursed her lips and wondered, not for the first time, if she was always going to manage to somehow be second to Stefa. "Your mom," remarked Riku suddenly, "where is she?"

"At the Castle," answered Melody. "But... she's not really in charge of any ruling matters anymore. She's much older now, and she tends to spend a lot of time taking care of Dad; he's pretty sick." Melody shook her head and returned to her happy disposition. "But I'm sure I can help you. What do you need?"

"Well, if you're the Queen, the main ruler now," began Holly, "then do you know anything about the increase in Heartless or anything?"

Melody's expression darkened as she nodded. "Maybe we should go inside after all."

* * *

**A/n: That was less action-y and more full of information. Important groundwork for future chapters, you know. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review; I will update as soon as I can. Until next chapturr. ;D**


	13. Torches

**Chapter Thirteen:**

Torches

_'We all learn to make mistakes_

_And run from them, from them with no direction._

_We'll run from them, from them_

_With no conviction._

_'Cause I'm just one of those ghosts, travelin' endlessly.'_

**- "Misguided Ghosts" by paramore**

**

* * *

  
**

"Alright, kid. Show me what you've got." Farkas' order came out as a yawn, his amber eyes barely focusing on Christian, who was wielding the Dark Keyblade once more.

Christian's eyebrows knitted together as he rested the keyblade on his shoulder. "I don't want to rush you while you're out of it."

Farkas pulled his lips up in a slight smile that bared his teeth. "Don't you worry." He stabbed his falchion into the ground and leaned against it. His arrogance easily angered Christian, who silently vowed to show Farkas what happened to those with a huge ego. Christian ran forward with the Dark Keyblade hanging off to the right. He screamed a battle cry and jumped at Farkas, as he had seen in many movies.

Openly yawning, Farkas lifted up his left hand and grabbed Christian by his weapon. He yanked it down with only a small percent of the force he could exert and sent Christian crashing into the concrete ground. Then, when Christian was on all fours, Farkas kicked him square in the chest with his steel-toed boots. Christian flew across the room and crashed into a stack of weights. The force was so violent that a spear hanging overhead fell to the ground.

There was no hurrying on Farkas' part. In fact, he barely looked concerned that Christian was bruised and bleeding five minutes into training. When he reached the boy, Farkas bent down so that his face was at Christian's level. "That was a lesson, kid."

"A lesson? What kind of lesson was that?! An 'I'm going to break every bone in this kid's body just because I'm that powerful'?!" demanded Christian as he attempted to sit up straighter. The action made him grunt in pain. "Can't you heal me, or something?" he added impatiently.

Farkas chuckled and shook his head. "I never bothered with that petty magic. That shit's for pussies, not real men. A real man can get over his wounds in order to honestly finish a battle."

Christian narrowed his eyes somewhat, but it was a hard expression to maintain with all of the pain he was feeling. "Where did you learn that?"

"A fucking good teacher," replied Farkas before straightening up. "Anyway, the lesson was that you need to stop thinking that you're all-powerful and can do whatever you've seen on TV. That's how morons get themselves killed. Also, you need to want to be taught. So, if you don't want me to teach you, you ain't gonna learn jack. Got it?"

"Got it," mumbled Christian. "But I seriously can't move. This hurts too much."

Farkas murmured mutinously under his breath as he relinquished a potion to Christian. "Now, let's get started."

**XxxxxX**

"Aerith! Aerith, I want a new group!" came Caleb's shout as he pushed his body against the cliff wall. Camilla and Kiera were approaching him, each with their keyblades raised, and they were wearing expressions that were, in his opinion, way too happy for their actions. "Come on! Somebody, help me!" His eyes shifted past the two girls approaching them and landed on an auburn-haired one. "Anali, help."

A smile slowly appeared on Anali's lips. "Honestly, I'd rather watch. Come on, Caleb. Show me how strong and capable you are," she added with a wink.

"This seems almost cruel, Cami," complained Kiera as she shouldered her keyblade.

Camilla shook her head. "Nah. You know, what with the way he treated Christian I think he deserves it. Man up!" she shouted before kicking up her speed tenfold so that she was running quite quickly at her twin. She was fast on her feet, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Aerith, who was watching the trio closely.

Caleb quickly raised his keyblade to defend himself. He gritted his teeth as Dissolve and Decay slammed into his keyblade and sparks flew. "Stop being so sour. Look how good Christian was in the end."

"You don't even know what you're talking about," replied Camilla, her brown eyes narrowed dangerously.

Aerith surprised both Kiera and Kaspar, who were inching closer in order to put a halt on the carnage, by nodding her head with approval. "Camilla and Caleb have the right idea. I want everyone to pair up and spar a little. Let's see what you all can do."

"Uh, what if those two kill each other?" wondered Kamon as he scratched the back of his head.

"They wouldn't be the first and certainly won't be the last," remarked Deirdre with detachment. Her arms were crossed as she leaned against an exposed, vertical pipe. Her wavy, pale blond hair was carelessly thrown over one shoulder, like her mother, and her almost grey-blue eyes were surveying the scene with little care. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder black sweater, a fluffy Lolita-gothic skirt with black leggings and a pair of knee-length black boots. With the skin that she was showing off and the thinness of her clothes, it was quite a surprise that she was not shivering with all of the snow on the ground.

Anali turned toward her "cousin" with a frown. "Could you possibly stop the doom and gloom for a second?"

"Why don't you ask me that while we spar?" replied Deirdre with a sneer in her voice as she toyed with a large gothic cross that was hanging around her neck. Sakura Bond appeared in Anali's hand with the same ease as it took for her to breathe, but she was not focusing on it for the moment. Her deep emerald eyes narrowed.

"Bad things happen. I feel really badly for you and even worse for Tristan, Deir--"

"God, what is _wrong _with you people? That's all people want to talk about when they see me. Has it occurred to anyone that I changed styles simply because I wanted to?" growled Deirdre as a flash appeared in her own hand. Love Lost was clenched in Deirdre's vice grip. What sun was actually shining down on the Radiant Garden seemed to catch the sage on the blade, which she absentmindedly ran her fingers over.   Anali rushed at Deirdre, her worn out red converse scrapping against the ground as she ran with her keyblade raised. "I know you're not so far gone into denial that you actually believe what you're saying. It's okay to hold a torch for those that you love, but what you're doing… it's insane!"

Kiera took a few steps backwards to examine the scene as pairs joined up and began to rush at one another's throats. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she sliced the tip of Essence of the Heart against the Postern's floor. It was like the previous year, what with everyone on opposite sides. She settled for fading into the background as the others paired up and hopped onto the wall. A slow sigh escaped her lips as she tilted her head backwards and stared into the sky.

"Mom," she began as the clashing of metal on metal filled the area, "what have I gotten myself into?"

**XxxxxX**

Kairi took a few steps after the ship first beamed them down. She sighed at the crunching of the grass as Arach and Laurence, she guessed, began to push each other around. Demyx took a step beside her in order to also get a good look at their surroundings. "This is Enchanted Dominion?" he inquired.

"Yeah," replied Kairi as she examined the thick trees and lush green grass. "It looks a lot nicer since the last time I was here which was, oh, only a few decades ago," she finished in a murmur.

A muscular arm was abruptly slung over her shoulder, causing Kairi to jump a little. Laurence dropped his head on Kairi's shoulder and grinned. "So, I hear a really hot prince lives here."

"He's probably a King by now, Laur," remarked Kairi with a small smile. "And, even so, he's got to be prett-y old by now. Besides," she added, blinking in sudden realization. "Aren't you still dating Everett?"

Laurence mumbled something about "kinda sorta" and how Everett seemed to "be interested in another guy. Someone from his paaaast." He clapped his hands together

"Well, calm your hormones while we're here, okay? We're here to investigate," Kairi reminded the group -- mostly Arach and Laurence.

Arach nodded as he placed his hands behind his head. He was just as laidback as usual and was almost a shadow of what he once was. His once jet-black hair now had a few strands of silver running throughout, and his once fearsome expression simply looked tired and old. The man suddenly tilted his head and narrowed his eyes somewhat as he tried to read her eyes.

Kairi wondered what Arach saw when he looked at her. A slight blush touched her cheeks as she acknowledged that she definitely was not the young, seventeen-year-old he had once tortured with his spiders. "So, I guess the only thing we can do is find Aurora and Philip."

"Philip! What a romantic name!" swooned Laurence.

Kairi looked over to Demyx, who nodded. He strummed his sitar and a few gargantuan bubbles soaked Laurence to the bone. Even Demyx looked old and tired, despite him being revived almost two years ago. Maybe the only one who had yet to change out of the group of them was Laurence, especially when it came to men. "I think I still remember where the castle is. If not, God help me when we get lost in this forest."

"I think we should race there," proclaimed Arach suddenly.

Demyx and Kairi stared at him with stupefied expressions while Laurence practically jumped up and down. "Are you high?" demanded Demyx with the most serious tone Kairi had ever heard out of him.

"Let's do it!" encouraged Laurence.

"You've never been here before," pointed out Kairi.

Arach shook his head. "Au contraire ma chérie. So, Laurence and I will go our way and meet you two eventually, alright? Enjoy your company, dearest," he added to Kairi before starting through a thick throng of trees.

Kairi's hands balled into fists as she fought the urge to jump up and down. "It's amazing how much he can still aggravate me to this day."

"It's a purely Arach power," agreed Demyx.

**XxxxxX**

Olympus Coliseum seemed to be a forever warm, sunny place -- at least topside. The Underworld, the trio knew from experience, was something completely different. "I wonder if it would be a worthwhile trip to visit Hades," remarked Sora as he folded his arms and leaned against one of the pillars in the courtyard before the lobby.

"Go ahead," replied Naminé before she and Nalani started for the lobby. "Nala and I will see if Herc knows what's going on. I wonder if he's still in great shape, and if he and Meg have kids?" she added thoughtfully.

Nalani was not, truthfully, thinking about the Boy -- even more Man now -- Wonder. As she put her hands on the golden doors with Olympus' symbol on it, all she could think of was the previous time she had been there. "This is where we said our final goodbye," she whispered to no one.

Naminé's blue eyes stared at Nalani's back, burning holes into it. Nalani spun around to find the blonde still staring, and waiting for... something. "Naminé?" she prompted.

"Mm," replied Naminé. "I was talking to you, and you were completely ignoring me. I see why, now, I think," she added with her head slightly tilted to the right.

Nalani blinked a few times. She knew that if had it been Kairi with her, she would have been greeted by the redhead getting into her face, or pushing her, as she tried to figure out what Nalani was daydreaming about. And, most likely, Nalani would get off without having to explain herself. Naminé was a whole other story. "Naminé, can I ask you a serious question."

Naminé did not seem surprised by this. She nodded as she sat on the Coliseum's steps. "Sure, of course."

Nalani nodded and stepped off of the stairs, so Naminé could see her. She kicked up some sand with her worn out black Converse. "What do you think about carrying a torch for someone who's not around anymore?"

The corners of Naminé's light pink lips upturned. "Everyone does it," she replied in a soft, thoughtful voice. "I think about Tristan all the time, but that shouldn't surprise you." She looked up from the sand in order to catch Nalani's eye. "I also think about Stefa a lot, and that doesn't surprise you either. But, if you're talking about love..." She trailed off and her eyes became momentarily distant. "Well, it happens. Always. Even me... You know, Sora..." Nalani nodded; she knew. "You can bet that people who have had intimate moments -- not necessarily sex, Nalani -- with one person will not forget them easily. And if and when that second person comes along, you can't help but be hesitant or think about that first person often. Even if you marry that other person, even if you love them more, well... those feelings for the first person linger." Naminé's eyes refocused and she began to dig her toes into the sand.

"It just... depends. Sometimes, that first person is too important, and they're too hard to forget about. And, sometimes, the feelings for the first person are too strong, and... you go back to them." Naminé focused her eyes at the sky for a few moments, and Nalani knew who she was thinking about, for she was thinking of the same girl: Stefa. "But, it happens. Everyone does it. It's normal, and it's okay. Let's get inside the Coliseum and talk to Hercules, or someone."

Naminé was suddenly too eager to get off the topic, and Nalani was willing to let it go. She could not blame the other woman for being hesitant about the subject. But, as she entered the lobby behind Naminé, she could not help but think about Ceron.

**XxxxxX**

The Land of Dragons was, Reixka decided, as snowy as Jewel's Grove and _that _was saying something. She hugged her long, leather trench coat around her as her steel-toed boots dug into the snow. Sage glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and wondered how much she had changed since her birth because, to him, she looked the same. The only difference was that she was older. Everyone was older. Even Laurence, though he didn't act like it of course.

Sage ran a hand through his hair as his eyes examined the thick bamboo that surrounded them. It was a good thing, he decided. It could defend them from any human enemies -- he had heard stories about this world being a bit war torn -- and it could also keep a good amount of blowing snow from bothering them. Some snow fell out of his hair as he played around with it, and Sage found himself wishing he had packed a jacket, or gloves. Anything but just jeans and his usual green tee.

As cold as it was, Sage was a big fan of snow. He was not so fond of the fact that all of Lomura's plants died during this particular season. It was beautiful, though, when it snowed over the beach. He knew winter was Holly's season. She had told him as much, once.

_"Winter's your favorite? That's surprising," noted a twelve-year-old Sage who, in all actuality, did not look much different than he currently did. Slightly less cartilage piercings, but that was about it. _

_ Holly grinned at him, not moving her hands to brush the snow out of her light hair. Her bangs were pinned behind her head, and her hair was in a half-ponytail. She was wearing a blue, midriff vest and a pair of dark jeans beneath her black jacket. "Well, Winter is the time of year where it rarely rains. I love it. Besides, what's better than sledding in the snow and making snow angels? Or, you know, throwing snowballs through Laurence's bedroom window because he left it open overnight."_

_ "You and your brother have quite the relationship," noted Sage as he dug his hands into the pockets of his black jacket._

_ She nodded her agreement. "Sure. I love him. He's my number one, and always looks out for me no matter what. He's the best man I know. I feel bad, though, like I hold him back a lot."_

_ "From?" prompted Sage as he watched the snowflakes settling on the sand._

_ "You," she answered as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "He can't be with you as often as he wants."_

_ "Well, dudes don't need to hang out 24-7, like chicks."_

_ Holly's brown eyes narrowed somewhat as her lips pursed and she tilted her head upwards. "Stop pretending, Sage. You don't have to be afraid to admit it, you know. No one cares if you're gay. I mean, Laurence is flaming, and he only gets small glances."_

_ "What are you...?" Sage trailed off as Holly fixed him with a hard glance._

_ "If you pretend now, then you might lose your chance later. And wouldn't that be just really depressing if you were left all alone because you couldn't admit you'd been in love with someone for years?" _

Laine looked from Sage to Reixka, who also appeared deep in thought. She was staring, without seeing, at the various stalks of bamboo. "You know," began Reixka, sensing the Luce's presence just behind her, "I heard from Sora that when he transformed into a Heartless, he began to forget things. You know how long he was without his heart? Not very long. But he forgot important things. And, though no one wants to admit it, we're all pretty sure that the whole worlds colliding thing is because Stef lost her heart. So, really, who knows what's actually happening to her. No Heartless. Heart being manipulated. Maybe she's just hanging in the darkness again, like she did the first time.

"But I think she'll be different when -- or if -- she comes back. She's been gone, I think, for so long that she's probably forgotten important things. She won't act like her. She might not even know who her best friend is, who her children are." Reixka inhaled deeply. "If I wasn't already so old and didn't have friends... If it was the beginning again, and Stefa didn't know who I was... That would hurt so badly. She was my only friend for so long, against all odds. I'd be alone, and that's scary. I wonder if, at that point, I wouldn't prefer going back to being a Nobody."

Laine stared at Reixka's braid thoughtfully. "Everyone's so deep in thought."

"I guess that's what happens when the world as you know it is about to end," murmured Reixka before turning around. "So, I have no clue how to get to the Palace. What about either of you?" Both Sage and Laine shook their heads. "Perfect. We'll be wandering around in a snowstorm..."

"The Palace? Why?" a voice asked from behind them. "Are you here to finish us off?" The trio turned around to find themselves face to face with an older Chinese woman. Her medium-length deep brown hair looked thin and greying, but her dark eyes were undoubtedly those of a warrior. She was, without a doubt, the person Reixka had been hoping to see.

Sakura Dawning flashed into Reixka's hand, and the woman calmed somewhat at the sight of it. "We're allies, Mulan. Friends of Sora," she added with a small smile. "We're here about the... troubles plaguing the worlds."

Mulan's eyes widened as she nodded. "Yes, yes. Good. Come with me. We shall talk where it is safer to do so." She started out of the Bamboo Grove without making a sound.

"The snow swallows the sound," noted Sage. "No wonder why we didn't hear her."

Reixka pursed her lips. "Well, we better start using our eyes, then. I don't feel like losing my heart anytime soon simply because I couldn't hear the Heartless coming. Let's see what Mulan has to say."

**XxxxxX**

"Alright, kid. Now that I'm sort of sure that you won't get yourself killed in a five-minute battle, we're ready for the next step. It's gonna be pretty important for you to be able to use Heartless, kid, especially if you need a quick getaway. Calling them is as easily as summoning your Keyblade, I bet," remarked Farkas with his arms crossed as he stared down at Christian, who was on all fours on the ground. Bruises and cuts lined Christian's body already, and he guessed that more bruises would appear the following morning. He was barely able to focus on Farkas' words because, honestly, Christian was not sure that he still wanted to go through with this whole thing.

Following Xemnas to another world was one thing. Learning to use Heartless to make a "quick getaway" or to purposely harm other people seemed wrong and stupid to Christian. In the very back of his mind, he agreed with it. He wanted to learn to hone the darkness. The other remembered the light, Camilla. "Camilla and her family... Not so big on the darkness, right?" asked Christian weakly.

Farkas raised a thick, silver eyebrow. "Is that _all _you can think about, kid? Geez, maybe I was wrong..." He closed one eye and stared at Christian out of the corner of the other. At the very least, he'd humor Christian. "Not so much anymore, really. Arach has his tendencies, and those same tendencies resonate in his children's hearts, 'specially Camilla's. Not that that could be helped; she worked under Cane for quite a bit of time."

"She did?" replied Christian, his eyes wide. "But, she's so..."

"Can't judge a book by its cover, kid. But, it's complicated. If you want my advice, I'd stop thinking about that girl. She'll only be trouble for you."

Christian scowled. "Why's that?"

"Because your potential's in the _light, _not the darkness. And you can't change that. Arach and Nalani was something totally different... Besides, I have no doubt that if you put Camilla's friends and family in danger, that she'd be forced to kill you."

"Seriously?" demanded Christian. "That doesn't sound like her. Not at all. Besides, I'm good," he added, shaking his head. "I'm not dark."

Farkas grinned. "Of course not, kid. Of course not. You ready to call on Heartless, or what? I think if you put your heart to it, then it should be pretty easy."

Christian did not want to believe Farkas, but he still decided to humor his mentor. Even if he only did it because he did not want to be kicked into another wall. He closed his eyes and mind, focusing only on his heart. His heart burned with dark desire, with hunger... Christian had never felt this way; he felt the sudden urge to open his eyes, but they would not open. Instead, a popping sound emitted from somewhere near his hand, and he opened his eyes to find a Soldier Heartless.

He looked at Farkas, his mouth slightly open with surprise. Farkas was smug at best, his arms still crossed. "Told you it was possible. If you want to summon a portal, you pretty much do the same thing, just picture the portal and your path."

Still, Christian could not talk. He pointed at the Heartless, as if him summoning it was impossible. Farkas ran a hand through his short, silvery hair. "Listen, kid. It's not like your mother had a heart of gold. She was a dark wielder. It's not the biggest surprise of the world. Maybe you need to learn more about your family tree."

"Maybe," replied Christian, his voice barely above a whisper.

**XxX**

"Hmph. I think I may have found an interesting one, Xemnas," called Saïx from where he was seated on the black leather sofa before the television. He was holding a VCR remote control in his hand, his index finger hovering over the play button. Xemnas moved, smoothly, across the room to stand in close proximity of the TV. He nodded, and Saïx hit the bottom. The tape featured a new person, a girl in her late teens. She was easily recognizable with her fairly long, chocolate-colored hair tied in a side ponytail that hung past her shoulder blades. Her outfit consisted of a black and purple tank top with a bit of an open back, a black and purple pleated skirt, and black boots. Her emerald eyes were wide as they remained fixated on Saïx and Xemnas' subject.

"Please, Cane. It was a mistake; I had a moment of weakness," she confessed, her eyes falling to the floor. "And you can't tell anyone. _Anyone_."

Cane was older, too. In fact, this had to have been after Destine, Holly, and the others had been revived, but quite some time before about a year ago. "Why? Arach won't think less of you for it."

Destine nodded. "I know. He won't care, but... I do. Because I don't even remotely care for you. I was just upset."

"Of course," replied Cane with a glint in his reddish-brown eyes. "And isn't that always when women seem to come to me. Never for love, just for a need to feel the void, but I won't let if affect our relationship. Worry not."

Destine looked up suddenly and smiled. "I never expected you to be so understanding. Thanks!" And, with that, she was skipping down the hallway of the Castle that Never Was. Cane was left in the corridor to chuckle.

"If you only knew, Destine. If you only knew. A sweet girl would never cut it. But, you? Oh, yes, _you _would do just the trick."

As he started down the hallway, another form followed him. She was also quite easy to recognize because of her red hair with stripes of blue. "Cane, we need to talk," her tone was urgent. "Was _this _why you revived me and Destine?" she added angrily as they disappeared off of the camera screen. The screen flickered and became snowy.

Saïx ejected the tape as Xemnas turned toward him. "Timeline, Saïx?"

"It's hard to say," he replied. "It's certainly before last year's events, but after Destine was slaughtered by Arach in Olympus. Strange, Destine and Tiesa look the same as they did last year."

Xemnas nodded. "True enough, but Cane did have the Fountain."

"How did we get that?" asked Saïx. "It's very... new."

"I took it from Christian's room," came Xemnas' simple reply.

* * *

**A/n: What Cane was talking about in the last scene is actually very, very important. But you won't know what it is until later. ;3 Pretty solid chapter, I thought. Emotional and stuff, and I wanted to get it up (that's what he said), so I may have to come back and fix this... or something. Hope you enjoyed! Until the next chapturr.**


	14. No Turning Back

**Chapter Fourteen:**  
No Turning Back

**A/n: Every time I reread stuff that I've had Laurence say, I'm reminded more and more of the friend that I modeled him after. It's scary how similar they are, especially without my meaning to. xD' Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer - I still have no clever way to say that I don't own Kingdom Hearts. So. There it is.**

_'Sing something new; I have _nothing_ left._

_I can_'_t face the dark without you._

_There_'_s nothing left to lose; the fight _never ends_._

_I can_'_t _face_ the dark without you.'_

**-"Without You" by Breaking Benjamin**

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* * *

  
**

"Phil, do you ever age? Ever? Because, by now, you should at least be graying," complained Nalani as she and Naminé stepped into the Coliseum's arena. The small, orange Satyr was pushing crates out of his way and cleaning up from what appeared to be a recent game. Nalani and Naminé exchanged a brief glance, both wondering if Hercules was still fighting in the Coliseum.

A chuckle sounded from the satyr as he turned to face Nalani with a smirk. "Someone sounds a little jealous, Nalani," he remarked, surprising her that he could recall her name. "If I were you, I'd be too." Naminé had to hold her back from her attempt to choke Phil to death. "So, what are you two here for? Training? I see that my heroes never really do retire," he added with a prideful grin.

"No," answered Naminé quickly, obviously recalling Phil's 'training.' She and Nalani had neither the time nor patience to knock barrels around the arena or to get one-hundred orbs in however many minutes. "We're here, mostly, to see Hercules. Where is he?"

Phil chuckled, which broke off into a heavy wheez. After inhaling a few times, he replied, "Can't help you there, unless you feel like seeing the rest of Greece. He's home with Meg and the kids."

"Kids?" blurted out Nalani. Somehow, the thought of the eternally handsome, semi-God settling down and having children was close to blasphemy.

"He has a lot of 'em, too. They were sure a handful when they were toddlers, running around and breaking stuff…" Phil trailed off, his eyes clouding over. "Anything I can help you with?"

Naminé shook her head slowly, and her breath hissed out like a balloon losing air. "I hate to say it, but I don't think you can. I guess we'll have to go down to the Underworld and find Sora."

"Sora's here?" Phil sounded like a kid in a candy shop. "Two words: get him up here."

"Phil, that's--" Naminé was cut off by Nalani, who raised her hand and murmured, "It's not even worth saying anymore, Nam."

**XxxxxX**

Once everyone had split into pairs and began to beat the snot out of each other, the training session had simply gone downhill from there. People began to pick fights with the other simply because they were slightly annoyed with that person. Aerith's plan for everyone to go inside the castle never went through simply because of everyone's exhaustion and aggravation. By the time they were returning home, Anali and Caleb were not speaking, and neither were Camilla and Cashel. "Another guy, Camilla?" he shouted as Camilla walked ahead with Anali and Kiera. All the talk about Christian had, unsurprisingly enough, yielded a finally aware Cashel about Camilla's relationship with the other boy. "Really? I thought I meant more to you than that. Your aunt made me human for you. I'm pretty sure that was the last thing she'll probably ever do for you. And how do you honor that? By cheating on me!"

Camilla was clutching the bronze key and mirror charms as she marched onward, her brown eyes glaring daggers at the cliff walls, as if they had personally insulted her. She and everyone else who knew her well knew how simple it would be for her to turn on her heel and get under Cashel's skin with her words alone. But she did not turn around, and she did not retaliate. Maybe it was the guilt, or the exhaustion from sparring.

Once Cashel began speaking about her mother, Kiera knew she was very close to snapping and beating him up. How an afternoon of training had gone so badly, she didn't know. The only people who actually seemed overall happy still were Aerith and Kaspar; they were just fine.

When they returned to the house -- and, they all did choose to go to Merlin's house -- the only one there was Merlin. He looked up from a spell book in the corner of the room with an expectant grin. "How did it go?" he asked. The group had set off in the morning, and the sun was already almost completely set.

Everyone answered, as one, how they thought the training went. Most people used some sort of swear, while Camilla settled for, "Peachy. Like a bucket of daisies. So, where's the reject? Uh, I mean... Ryley." Her tone was hard and annoyed. And, Merlin, knowing that Camilla was Arach and Nalani's daughter -- which could say much about her temper -- swallowed hard.

"In his room still, I believe."

Camilla smiled and nodded. Then, without another word, she started up the stairs. Kiera stared after her, her mouth slightly agape. Caleb stepped beside her and said, simply, "I'm afraid for him."

"Me too," agreed Kiera, under her breath. Seconds later, Camilla's voice was shouting, quite audibly, numerous things at Ryley. She mostly called him a bad boyfriend, lazy, a bad friend, and damn lucky that he had not come to train. Then, she returned downstairs with a pleasant smile.

"I do believe that Ryley will be apologizing for being an asshole to you shortly, Kiera." Camilla informed her happily. Dissolve and Decay disappeared from her outstretched hand.

Anali asked what everyone else was thinking, only in her own words, "So, did you hurt him really bad? Because, if you did, that would be great."

Camilla nodded. "Yep. I'd say it was pretty hard alright."

Kiera broke off into a fit of giggles, knowing that even being Cane's son would not have saved Ryley from the pain of Camilla's temper.

**XxxxxX**

The trek to the Palace was long and tiring, not to mention filled with Heartless. Mulan spoke, loudly, over the roaring winds that blew snow into their faces. "So, you all are… friends of Sora's?"

"Yes," responded Reixka, almost in a yell. "Well," she added with a glance over her shoulder at Sage and Laine, "I'm relatively close to him, ish. Closer with Kairi." Mulan nodded; Kairi was a name that she recognized.

Laine spoke up, fighting against the howling of the wind in order to be heard. "Naminé was here just over a year ago… Are things really that bad?"

Another nod from Mulan. "Yes. It started up just a little while ago. More and more Heartless started to appear. There are so many of them… It's just horrible. And the army is no match. At this point, I'm not sure what we're going to do."

"You won't have to worry about losing your world," remarked Sage, who was dragging his keyblade across the top layer of the snow as they trudged on. "I don't think that's the aim. You might have to worry about bowing down to a new, 'ultimate' leader, though." Reixka quickly retaliated with a nasty glare.

Mulan's eyebrows furrowed together. "What do you mean?"

Before Sage could answer her, Laine said, "We probably shouldn't talk about it here."

"That's fine, we're at the city," replied Mulan as they stopped at the huge, closed gates. "That's funny, I was pretty sure that the gates were open when I left."

Reixka and Sage exchanged a significant glance. Corrupted Fate, Sakura Dawning, and Old Faithful **(A/n: Sooner or later, I am so changing that name) **flashed into their hands as they steered themselves to face whatever it was they were to face. Sage and Mulan were able to push the doors open easily enough, and the wielders were completely unsurprised to see a figure standing in the middle of the bridge.

With her head tilted at a slight angle, she remarked, "The back of his head is ridiculous. But, it also looks familiar…" The figure gave his head a violent jerk, shaking snow out of his short, spiky silver hair.

"You really do sound remarkably like your other," remarked the figure in an amused growl. "It's funny I would remember that, considering that wench hasn't spoken in quite some time."

The city square was more icy than it was snowy, and Farkas heard the slippery slamming of feet as Reixka rushed toward him. "You sound like you're in a talkative mood; that's always nice!" Farkas grinned, baring his teeth, and stepped to the side. Reixka continued to run with her keyblade raised, and she slid all the way across the bridge and fell onto the pavement.

"Yep, I certainly see the resemblance, too," he added, raking his falchion against the bridge's rail to create a horrific sound of metal on metal. Laine, Mulan, and Sage threw their hands over their ears.

"You again," hissed Mulan as she pointed her sword at the wolf-man. "What do you want?"

Farkas grinned and shook his head. "I already got what I wanted."

"Which is…?" prompted Sage, who took a few steps in front of Laine and Mulan.

"The Emperor's surrender, of course."

"What?" exclaimed Mulan, pushing Sage out of her way to get closer to Farkas. "He did what?"

Farkas chuckled. "Oh, don't you worry about your Emperor's allegiances; they still lie with you and your people." He paused and became momentarily thoughtful. "Or, I should say, they _did _lie with you and your people."

"You killed him?" gasped Mulan, her eyes slowly narrowing. Considering that the Emperor they were speaking of was the same one from over a decade ago, his death was not much of a surprise, considering his old age. But if Farkas was involved, then his death could not be written off too easily.

Farkas snorted. "Like it was that hard. He's so old that he probably died of a heart attack before I ran my falchion threw him."

"And Shang…?" trailed off Mulan.

The wolf-man's eyebrows furrowed. "Shang? Who the hell…? Ahh, that annoying man I had to take out before attacking the Emperor. Him. Well, he's… You know, there."

Mulan exchanged a quick, furitive glance with Sage, who nodded. "Go. You should go check on him."

"Thank you," breathed Mulan before running toward the palace while Farkas walked toward Laine and Sage.

Farkas quirked an eyebrow at them as he smashed the ice beneath his feet with one of his steel-toed boots. "So, are you two going to run away, too?"

"Do I look like someone who would run away?"

A smile twitched at the corner of Farkas' lip. "In some areas of your life, yeah." His amber eyes met Sage's forest ones, and the latter instantly knew that, somehow, Farkas knew about him and Laurence. His calm demeanor gone, Sage surged forward.

**XxxxxX**

"Guys suck," muttered Camilla at the same time as her twin said, "Girls suck." They both exchanged angry glances. "What did you say?" They demanded in unison.

"The only reason you think girls suck is because you picked an unnecessary fight with Anali," noted Camilla before licking at her Sea-Salt ice cream. Sure, it was the middle of the winter, but it did not stop her from enjoying the finer things of life -- especially the salty sweet ones.

Caleb eyed the lightly falling snow and his sister's ice cream before shaking his head as they sat on a bench in the center of the Marketplace. "I told her what I thought was right. That, you know, she needs to lay off Deirdre."

"You fuckin' kidding me?" replied Camilla, eyeing him seriously. "That girl's on the path to... darkness, really. She's letting her sadness overtake her, and, as much as I like Roxas and Naminé, I think her parents have let it get out of control. She reminds me one of those walking dead goths from school."

"Fine, but you don't involve yourself in other people's business, especially something like that," argued Caleb.

Camilla's eyebrows furrowed. "With how close Roxas and Axel are, they're pretty much cousins. It's like us with Kiera, you know? If Kiera was getting all dark and making bad choices--"

"--You would join her in making those bad choices. Then, somehow, you two would involve Ryley," remarked Caleb with a bitter smile. "Remember?"

"...Right," mumbled Camilla. She hadn't realized what she was getting herself into until the words had left her mouth. "Well, that's what Anali was trying to prevent. Besides, it was different for Kiera and I, but I don't think I could explain it to you." Camilla wasn't trying to exclude Caleb in any way, she was just speaking the truth. How could you explain colors to a blind person?

Caleb shook his head. "Veering away from that subject... The only reason you think dudes suck is because you cheated on your boyfriend and fell for a real jerk."

"When you actually know shit about Christian, you'll be allowed to criticize him. In the meantime..."

Shaking his head, Caleb averted his eyes in order to examine the mostly empty Marketplace. He found it refreshing that the area was empty of all Heartless; it was a real haven. But, as he thought this, something changed. Caleb choked as a black and purple swirling vortex appeared all the way up the stairs and beside one of the shops. "Guess I spoke too soon."

"What'd you say?" called Camilla as she continued to lick at the turquoise-colored ice cream.

Then, a figure stepped out of the vortex. He was a young teenager, wearing a pair of low-hanging, ripped blue jeans. His tee was black and depicted a large silver skull with vines jutting from it, all the way onto the back. And Christian recognized him immediately. "Hey, Cam, remember when I told you your new boyfriend is a jerk?"

"Yup," she replied in an unamused voice.

"I really mean it now."

Camilla, perplexed, stood to join her brother. When she stopped beside him and examined the figure as the portal disappeared, the ice cream slipped from her grip. It hit the snowy ground at the same time as her heart fell into her stomach. "Oh, God. Christian? Christian, what are you doing here?" And Christian, with his unfocused brown eyes, stared at Camilla with a mixture of defeat and horror.

**XxxxxX**

**-Atlantica-**

The castle looked almost exactly as it did the previous time Riku had visited. It was filled with the staff running around excitedly in order to get things done, but there was also a noticeable air of sadness. "Like I said, Dad's really sick," muttered Melody in an undertone as an older woman -- a maid Riku recognized from last time -- abruptly burst into tears and ran into the kitchen. They followed the Queen up the large, red-carpeted staircase until they reached a new level. Then, they followed her through a few hallways and entered a set of glass-paned doors. Melody signaled for Holly, the last of the group, to close the doors as she stepped to the edge of the balcony.

"How's King Triton?" asked Riku as he stepped beside the woman, his hair blown out of his face.

"Just fine, actually," muttered Melody. "It's… amazing. But, Aunt Aquata has taken over."

Quince smiled somewhat. "How does your mom feel about that?"

"She's known for a while," replied Melody with a small shrug. "She's fine with it. She said she wouldn't give up anything she has up here to be any sort of ruler down there." Melody turned away from the sea and faced the trio with a smile. "So, then, what did you want to ask me?"

"The Heartless," replied Holly. "They're increasing in number everywhere and, to be honest, we mostly don't know what's going on. But... we do have a slight idea of what's caused it and what could happen as a result."

Melody inclined her head, the smile slipping from her face. "Alright, I can take it. Tell me."

"The last time you saw Stefa, we weren't exactly sure of the nature of... what she was," remarked Riku. "The King had some ideas, but he didn't really feel like sharing them. Anyway, basically, her heart's layered completely with an ancient darkness with enough power to open a direct path to Kingdom Hearts, no matter how many times we've sealed and locked that damn thing." Riku paused to make sure Melody knew what he was saying; she was following him perfectly. "Kingdom Hearts and the heart, used simultaneously, can make the worlds revert to what they originally started out as: one gigantic world. And it already seems that the worlds are being drawn together."

Melody nodded. "Okay. But, what about the original light? Why are there so many Heartless?"

"Two reasons," answered Quince. "One has to do with Saïx and Xemnas, ex-leaders of Organization XIII. They're behind the whole scheme, so it's possible they're sending a shit load of Heartless to every world in order to make their taking over easier. The other reason could just be that the Heartless are appearing because more light is being concentrated, which is what most Heartless are after."

"Either way, nothing easy to deal with..." trailed off the Queen. "So, do you have any suggestions? Fighting these things won't work, right? Neither will sealing the keyhole repeatedly?"

Holly smiled wryly. "Afraid not. In fact, we're not sure of a solution... other than finding Saïx and Xemnas. So, if you spot them, you should contact the Radiant Garden immediately, okay?" Melody nodded. "I wish we could help you out. It sucks to have to fight on your own."

"Everyone here is strong," replied Melody confidently, "we can try to hold off the inevitable. I suppose I should go tell Aunt Aquata, though..."

"Tell her what we told you," said Riku before starting for the doors with Quince and Holly in tow.

"Hey, Quince," called Melody suddenly, causing the brunet to abruptly turn toward her. "Did you and Stefa have any kids? I mean, I know that what Riku said obviously means that right now she's..." She trailed off. "But she'll be fine, because she's really stubborn. That, I remember perfectly."

Quince nodded, a faint smile on his lips. "Yeah. Just one. Riku's got me beat, though. He had two with her."

Melody replied with a curt nod, as if the information did not surprise her. "A conflicted heart is a dangerous thing," she mumbled. "I have a daughter and a son. They're great. No keyblade wielders, but they are certainly helpful. I hope we meet up again."

"I'm sure we will," replied Quince before following after his group. Melody turned back toward the sea, the longing to return aching at the notion that she would have to go see her family that day. As she watched, a giant, teal tentacle reached from the depths of the sea and grabbed a seagull. The bird was promptly squished to death before it was pulled into the watery depths. How long until the Heartless would come to the castle Melody did not know.

**XxxxxX**

**-Enchanted Dominion-**

Kairi was amazed by the true beauty of Princess Aurora's castle. It had not, truthfully, even looked too bad in ruins, but in its full glory... it was breathtaking. The roofing was made of turquoise shingles with some spirals of gold on certain points. The taller towers were painted pink, while the gate was made of pale turquoise and pink granite stones. Gold and blue tapestries hung over the walls in huge amounts, and gold, in general, seemed to be on every part of the castle. "Wow," was all she could hear Demyx say.

She broke from her reverie and looked around abruptly. "Hmm. Arach and Laurence don't seem to be here yet, do they?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not really sure I believe you. I think I'm going to have to ask the two of you to leave," a voice, delicate but undeniably firm, rang out from somewhere behind the gate. Kairi and Demyx exchanged a quick, nervous glance before approaching the gate, which was closed. "I mean it. Out!"

"You have nothing to fear from us, Princess. You see, I'm happily married, and my friend is hopelessly in love with men that are likely too good for him," Arach's proud voice boomed.

"He's right," agreed Laurence cheerfully.

Radiant Destiny flashed into Kairi's hand as she mumbled, "Oh, brother." A bright light shot out from the tip, and the gate flew open. They followed Arach and Laurence's voices to the left, near a large rose garden where they were antagonizing a harassed-looking woman. The woman's head snapped in their direction, and a hopeful smile appeared on her face.

"Kairi, it's so nice to see you again," she cried before running toward the younger Princess of Heart. They embraced for a moment, and Kairi looked over her colleague. Only a few years separated them, and Aurora still looked as young and vibrant as ever with her flushed cheeks, lustrous blond hair, and petite figure. She was wearing an outfit that Kairi had never seen her in before: a long, beige skirt and long-sleeved, white-collared shirt beneath a black bodice. "Up to the usual business, I see," Aurora added as she noticed the keyblade.

Kairi grinned. "That's actually exactly while we're here," she replied as Laurence and Arach joined her. "Sorry about my friends," she added with a gesture to the two. In a murmur, she added, "they don't get out much since one lives on an island and the other lives in a town of perpetual bad weather." Aurora hid a giggle behind her hand as Arach and Laurence glared into the back of Kairi's head.

"How can I help you, then? This... doesn't have anything to do with Maleficent or us, does it?" asked Aurora, her smile slipping a little.

"We hope not," replied Kairi. "We don't know too much about this problem to be honest. We just needed to warn you..."

**XxxxxX**

Kiera had found herself exhausted when she returned home, so she crawled back under the warm comforter and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. For a while, her dreams involved exploding phoenixes, and chibi Camillas beating up on chibi Ryleys in the cave behind her house. Then, she found herself standing on the shore of a sea. It was dawn, so it was only semi-impossible for Kiera to place her location: the Sea of Tranquility. The waves lapping up the shore and rushing over her feet calmed her almost immediately, so much so that she actually wished that she was there.

"Isn't it great? There's a good feeling of... I don't know. Supremacy, I guess? I've always felt like I can do anything when I stand here during the early morning," admitted a teenager from Kiera's right. Kiera looked beside her and noticed a dirty blond, tallish teenage girl standing there. She was wearing a ruffled black tank top with pockets on it -- something, she thought, she could see her mom wearing -- and a pair of short jean shorts. No shoes of any kind, though. Apparently, she wanted to feel the salty water rush over her feet, too. "Never when people were around, though. Like in the afternoon, when it's packed. I felt it again, though, when Jacky and I went to our 'private beach'..." She broke off into a giggle before looking down at Kiera with pale, hazel green eyes.

She recognized the look almost immediately. "Mom?" breathed Kiera. The appearance of her seventeen-year-old mother would have been enough to prove she was dreaming had the location not been a good tip-off. "What are you...?"

"I never get to talk to you anymore, but you talk to yourself _all _the time. Why don't you let _me _talk for a while?" suggested Stefa with a playful grin. "I guess I screwed you over a little, but you were the one who started it. When I was around fourteen, fifteen... Whatever. Back then, when I was a stupid, angry kid, I faulted my mother for too much. That night the Heartless came to Jewel's Grove, I didn't even care that I couldn't find my mom. Maybe it was because I sort of always expected to find her again, but I never did.

"So, maybe I should have expected you to hate me, too. Of course, you have some really good reasons to hate me: I've made a good life of lies for you, haven't I? And, to think that my mom always told me I sucked at lying... Maybe it's easier to lie to someone whose life you want to better. I guess that's why it was easy for my mom to do when I was little." Stefa shook off the thought before turning toward her daughter, who she abruptly pulled into a hug. "I miss you so much, and I really wish I could come back. I know it's a mess right now -- again, mostly because of me -- but I just needed to tell you something...--"

The grip on Kiera that had been comforting just a second before suddenly became painfully suffocating. "Shh, shh, Stefa. The darkness makes some people a little crazy, Kier, so you'll really have to forgive your mother. I think her mind's slipping a little." Kiera knew the person holding her was no longer her mother, but someone else completely. "Now, I think what your mom wanted to spew at you was a bunch of life lessons... I think I'm better suited for that one, though, don't you?"

The Sea of Tranquility began to disappear and dissolve like acid chewing through a piece of paper. Kiera was starting to find that the pressure on her body was becoming stronger even though it was getting darker, so she wasn't sure whether or not the woman was still holding her in a vice grip. All she knew was that, like her mother, her mind was slowly slipping into a fog from the darkness...

**XxxxxX**

Naminé and Nalani had not made it much further than the Underworld's Entrance when Sora came through the Cave of the Dead entrance. He was wearing an annoyed and exasperated expression as Ultima disappeared from his hand. "Well, Hades was no help. I wasn't in his chamber for more than five minutes before he sent me away."

"He sent you, the stubborn, dedicated Keyblade Master away? How did he manage _that_?" asked Nalani with quite a deal of incredulity.

Through pursed lips, Sora answered, "Cerberus chased me through the caves. What a way to get a workout... So, did either of you get anything?"

"Not a damn thing," replied Nalani. "Herc and Meg weren't there because they're back at home with their kids, something that's starting to sound more and more appealing to me... Are we homebound yet?"

Naminé smiled slightly. "Well, Phil _did _mention wanting to see you, Sora."

"In so many words," added Nalani with a small shrug.

Sora put his hands on his knees and shook his head. "No way. I just ran a few miles with a three-headed dog at my heels. There's no way I'm about to battle round after round of Heartless."

Naminé nodded. "Then, I guess we can go, but..."

"But?" repeated Sora, knowing Naminé's trailed off sentences were never any good. "But what?"

"You know, neither Phil nor Hercules are the rulers of the Coliseum."

"She's right," agreed Nalani. "That would be the almighty God, Zeus."

Sora thought it over for a minute. "And if anyone in this world could help us, it would be the God of the gods... But the only way I can think of reaching Zeus is through Hercules."

"We'll have to come back, then," decided Nalani. "In the meantime, can we get back to the Garden?"

"Someone seems a little antsy," noted Sora.

"My spidey senses are tingling," was all Nalani said before walking in the direction of the Gummi warp point.

**XxxxxX**

For a moment, Camilla very much wanted to be naïve. She wanted to cry, "Christian, I knew you would come and find me!" and throw herself into his arms. But Camilla was not stupid, so she could only stare at him while clutching his necklace tightly. The most naïve thing she could do was repeat, "What are you doing here?"

Christian's resolve, which had seemed so strong when Xemnas had been spelling out his orders at the house, suddenly deflated at the sight of Camilla. Of course, she would be there. Why else would Xemnas send him? What exactly was Xemnas hoping to prove or start? He forced himself to look right into Camilla's eye and knew he could not lie. Not that she wouldn't be able to answer the question for herself. "I'm really happy to see you," he mumbled. "I've really, really missed you. And, hey, you're wearing the necklace,' he added with a small smile.

Camilla's mouth was slightly open, her head was at a slight angle, and her eyebrows were knitted together. "I missed you too," she replied. "But that doesn't answer what you're doing here."

"I'm here to take the Radiant Garden to its knees," answered Christian without cracking a smile.

"That's a funny joke," called Anali from behind Caleb and Camilla. "A really funny joke." Sakura Bond was held, firmly, in her hand, resulting in Caleb calling his own keyblade. Camilla simply stood there.

"You can't," she pleaded. "Christian..."

"Don't tell me this isn't me. I don't really think anyone knows who I am anyway," remarked Christian in a steelier voice. "Camilla, you can't stop me from what I'm going to do, but I know what's in your blood. I know the plan. If you come with me, you'll be safe."

Camilla stared at him as her mind stated every definition of safe that she could think of. She wasn't sure that staying with Christian under Xemnas and Saïx's roof was included in that definition. How many times had her mother and Aunt Stefa been outstretched the hand of darkness and taken it? Camilla knew that she was pissed at a little bit of everyone at the moment, but she also knew that she wasn't angry enough to risk her own personal safety.

Then, there was this other thought in her head, and it wasn't even a dumb idea. Sure, some people -- like Caleb -- would beg to differ, but she knew that it was a smart plan. Besides, Christian's hand was outstretched toward her, and she could practically feel the darkness pulsing off of him. Maybe it should have scared her, but it didn't. In fact, it felt familiar and welcoming.

Her facial expression abruptly changed. Camilla became visibly more confident as her right hand moved forward, pulsing with the energy of her keyblade, which was just waiting to be called upon. Caleb expected she had her feelings made up, and proudly stood back. Anali, also quite confident in Camilla, remained where she was standing, expecting a vine to rise or the teeth of Dissolve and Decay to cut into Christian's skin. A union formed around Camilla's hand, but it was not one between her hand and her keyblade.

Camilla's hand found Christian's, and an almost tainted-looking light sprung around them. He pulled her forward as a portal abruptly appeared behind them. "Camilla, what are you doing?!" exclaimed both Caleb and Anali as the other two entered the portal. Camilla paused in the darkness and turned around as she was enveloped by it like soft feathers. She mouthed, 'Trust me' and was gone in a second. The only proof that Christian had entered the Radiant Garden was the lack of Camilla and a handful of Shadows and Knights.

_'Take my hand, drag me down._

_If you fall, then I will too._

_And I can't save what_'_s left of you.'_

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**A/n: I've got to be honest that the end even surprised me; it wasn't part of the plan, but I like it. Hope you enjoyed! Until next chapter. :)**


	15. Questions & Answers

**Chapter Fifteen:**  
Questions & Answers

_'Kako ni koukai wa nai (The past holds no regrets)__kanashimi wa toki hanachi ima mirai e to susumu kigasuru (So I set my sorrows free and head towards the future)  
kotae wa mune no naka ni (In my heart is the answer)__mae wo muite arukidasu sono toki wa, jibun dake no shouri e to (As I walk towards my own victory)  
sukoshizutsu chikazuite hajimari wo kanjiteru (I seem to get closer & closer to the place where it all began).'_**  
-"Sense" by Mami Kawada**

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The darkness was never welcoming to Kiera, but she was quite sure it was a dream, so she was satisfied. She wandered through the dark nothingness and stopped in midstep. There was one footstep behind her, which sounded clumsy and loud. Then, it stopped abruptly. Kiera slowly turned around and found the girl with lavender-streaks in her hair. The girl looked surprised, but she quickly covered it with a smile.

"Let me tell you a story, Kiera," she said, still smiling, although Kiera stared at her as if she were -- and she probably was -- insane. "A long time ago, all the worlds were filled with light, and they were joined together like a giant continent. Everyone was happy in the light, and life was good. But soon, people began to want that lovely light all for themselves. They fought over it, hurting and killing each other in order to seize it. Their greed spread darkness like wildfire, and almost everyone perished.

"The light was nice, but it was too much for people to handle. So, the light was sealed away within a place called Kingdom Hearts, and the world was balanced with darkness and light. Children were of the few left in the world's population. Then, it broke into many different worlds, most balanced with light and darkness, and they separated into space. This way, the light of each world would be balanced without the possibility of making anyone hungry for it. It is said that some of that light lives on only in the hearts of children -- which changes as they age -- and also in the hearts of eight pure maidens, --"

"--The Princesses of Hearts," noted Kiera. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," replied the girl, "the darkness that formed as a result of the power-hungriness is different than, oh say, the darkness that turned Maleficent into a dragon. It was ancient and dark, like an old, evil magic. That darkness couldn't just be left to lie around. So it was sealed away… until it awoke within the heart of a girl. She was young, cute, innocent… and cursed. How could the light of a world's life, a child, be neglected so badly that she was cursed to be so very evil?"

The girl smiled, her jade eyes twinkling. "But that darkness _was _her, and it also was _not _her. It covered her heart, but there was still light beneath it. She ignored that ghastly darkness although she did give into it a few times in order to protect her gentle psyche."

"What are you rambling on about?" yawned Kiera.

The girl frowned and seized Kiera by the front of her shirt. She pointed off to the side, and growled, "That."

A light was illuminating a teenager with dirty blond hair that held thick black stripes. "That's her, sure, but under a heavy influence. She was almost semi-asleep during her first journey," she hissed. "Took all of the credit, too. But that's also her, only less so." She gestured to another limelight illuminating a dozing woman with completely black hair. Kiera realized who the woman was after a few seconds: her mother. "Do you understand now?"

"No," replied Kiera in a slight whimper.

A smile was back on the other's face, but it was not joyful. It was ferocious and satisfied, one of a predator that had just cornered its prey. "I am the dark. You are the dark… That Nobody is the dark, or at least the anagram of me. And that ancient darkness?" She posed the sentence as a question although Kiera had not said a word about it. "Well, some of it got to a power-hungry boy; it drove him insane. He is hardly the original of it, but yet _he _gets the cults and the credit and the fear. He is hailed as the darkness…"

"And that pisses you off, doesn't it?" asked Kiera, who was struggling to breathe. "But you're not even real." Essence of the Heart flashed a light so bright that it actually knocked away the lavender-streaked girl.

"I am _so _real. You'll see. Oh, I _will _show you, Kiera." The girl rolled across the ground, which Kiera examined for the first time. She realized it was a pillar, like one of the ones from her awakening, but it was completely blacked out. Her curiosity was cut short as the stranger stood up and sent her a cold gaze. "There's so much you don't know, foolish child. You and all of your stupid friends. But... I have a feeling that everyone will learn, sooner or later. Especially when you learn your fate is no different than that of your mother's." She disappeared without warning into a portal, and Kiera abruptly awoke, gasping for breath.

**XxxxxX**

The fight had already been dragging on for so long that it was a struggle for Sage to stay standing. He dodged Farkas' falchion by jumping backwards, onto the slippery bridge. He promptly slipped and fell, sliding down and into a small pile of snow. All this time, Laine had been hovering on the sidelines while nervously watching the wolfman and Sage fight aggressively. Corrupted Fate had never left her hands, and she knew what had to be done with it.

Farkas walked toward Sage dreadfully slowly, like something out of a horror film. But Laine was fast. She quickly ran, slipping the whole way, and stopped before Sage's form with her arms thrown out. She blew her bangs out of her blue eyes as she stared, defiantly, up at Farkas. He chuckled and shouldered his falchion, stopping just about a foot before her. He put his face into hers and bared his sharp teeth. "Boo." Laine jumped a little, and Farkas boomed with laughter. "They'll make anyone a keyblade wielder if they're desperate, huh? You resemble the Princess of Heart, Kairi. Smell like her, too."

Laine did not know what to say to the Nobody, so she settled for nothing but a glare. Her knuckles were beginning to turn white from the vice grip she had on Corrupted Fate. The falchion was whipped out suddenly, and Laine quickly moved. She was not quick enough and suffered a cut to her cheek as a result. "Laine, the being of light. I wasn't sure if you actually bled or if sparkles flew out of your wounds."

"Augh, shut up!" she cried as she surged forward. Laine slipped on the ice and flew across the pavement; Farkas caught her around her midsection and lifted her off the ground.

"I wonder what Xemnas and Saïx could do with a Luce. Well, seeing as how you saved a whole world with your light, I'm guessing they'd be interested in experimenting on you..."

Laine's eyes narrowed dangerously, her hand pushing against Farkas' chest. "I am _not _a specimen. I'm a _person_."

"If you're a person, then I'm a fairy princess," replied Farkas with a smile that bared his teeth. "Let's see what happens to a Luce that becomes tainted by darkness. That one would be fun to watch."

"Light!" exclaimed Laine. Light escaped from her hands, and pierced into Farkas' chest via her left hand. Farkas let loose a blood-curling howl of pain as he was thrown off of his feet by the light.

Laine grinned victoriously as Reixka and Sage joined her. "Not half bad," complimented Sage.

"If you could do that one more time, maybe it would subdue him enough for us to take him back to the Radiant Garden with us. But that could turn into a potentially bad situation in under a second if we're not careful, so maybe not," decided Reixka before approaching Farkas. She stabbed Sakura Dawning into his jacket in order to pin him down, if only for a moment. "Tell me where Saïx and Xemnas are."

"Wouldn't you love to know?" answered Farkas with a weak sneer. "How about I tell you when hell freezes over?"

Old Faithful was stabbed into Farkas' chest, causing the sneer to disappear. "What happened, exactly, with Stefa's heart?"

"What? You don't know? Well, alright, I'll bite. When her heart was released, her body disappeared; they had a Heartless do it to save time. Then, they went to Kingdom Hearts and offered it the heart. The doors opened and took the heart. In return, they were flooded with a black light, while light, in the meantime, fell upon every world. This light is the ultimate one, the one that is able to rejoin the worlds. And, thanks to the power Saïx and Xemnas have received, they are now able to make every world fall to their knees before him."

A grin returned to Farkas' lips, "And since I know that the minds of you keyblade wielders are small, I'll summarize for you. In other words, you keyblade-wielding morons are screwed."

"You feel like divulging anything else?" demanded Sage.

"Yeah, I do," responded Farkas. "We got a kid on our side. And, with his power, you wielders can say goodbye to your lives." He swiftly yanked at the keyblade, which disappeared almost immediately as a result of his touch, and disappeared into a portal.

Old Faithful reappeared in Sage's hand, and he stabbed it into the place Farkas had just been. He glanced up at the snowy sigh and muttered, "Fuck. We're screwed."

**XxxxxX**

"Sometimes, Ryley, in the interest of others, we stop being selfish. I know, I know, it's a really strange concept, but it's one you might want to think of grasping," remarked an amused Elie from the countertop of Merlin's kitchen. She was eyeing her second-cousin with something of amusement as he, sitting at the kitchen table, broke up the Corn Flakes in his bowl with unnecessary aggression. His cheeks bore numerous scratches, as did his arms. If Elie didn't know any better, she'd guess Ryley had gotten into a fray with one of Kiera's cats. The fact of the matter was that he had gotten into a one-sided fray with a very pissed Camilla.

Ryley huffed something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "Is that why you didn't get to go on a mission?"

"That makes no sense, one," answered Elie. "And, two, it was because Leon knew that someone has to keep an eye on you. Particularly when you don't come out of your room all day, then come out late at night and eat Corn Flakes for dinner."

"If you're keeping an eye on me, can you make me something _better _than Corn Flakes?"

Elie smiled. "If I did, I wouldn't be teaching you the necessary life-lessons needed for you to get by on your own. Although I _can _see you sleeping on your father's couch in ten years anyway..."

"That's not possible; my father's gone," replied Ryley sourly.

The smile slipped off Elie's face. "Way to kill the mood," she complained. At that moment, the front door flew open and several different voices began to speak. "Huh. Well, I guess everyone's home. Man, that was fast!" The kitchen door opened almost immediately, and a surprisingly chipper Quince leaned down and pulled Ryley into a headlock.

"Hey, cos," he called to Elie, who quickly jumped off the counter and hugged her cousin from behind. "Wow. Did you miss me or something?"

"Well, the kids got involved in a huge fray--" At Quince's concerned expression, Elie added, "with each other. They all stormed in here at once, yelling and stuff; I let Merlin handle it. Then, Camilla went upstairs and physically abused your son, who has just left his room for the first time today."

Quince raised his eyebrows. "Sounds like a better time than I had. I don't know why we're bothering to visit different worlds to tell these people that we don't know anything but they should be on the lookout for danger."

"Because, if we didn't, they wouldn't know they were in danger until the last possible second," another voice replied before lightly hitting Quince upside the head. He turned to find Kairi staring at him with a playful grin. "Hey Elie, Ryley. Either of you see Kamon?"

"I haven't seen much of anyone since Aerith's sparring activity," replied Elie. "But you can try upstairs. He might be sleeping."

The front door opened with a bang shortly before a voice announced, "Guess who got to meet up with Farkas?"

"That's our cue to see how the Land of Dragons was," remarked Kairi before exiting the kitchen. "Let's go." Elie, Ryley, and Quince followed her into the living room at the same time as a tired-looking Kiera descended the stairs. She looked like a walking zombie, but Quince assumed it was because she had just woken up. He narrowed his eyes at her hair, but he could not make out many details in the darkness of the stairwell.

Reixka and Sage stood in the center of the room while everyone else gathered around. Laine decided to sit off to the side, deciding that she had nothing important to add to the conversation. "Farkas was waiting for us outside of the Emperor's Palace in the Land of Dragons," announced Reixka. "He confessed to killing the Emperor when he refused to surrender. So, we got started into him. Thanks to Laine's light subduing him, we also got some answers. They're not so great."

"Saïx¨and Xemnas have already made use of Stefa's heart. They used it in some sort of odd trade with Kingdom Hearts, which granted them power while also releasing a light that will rejoin all of the worlds again. The power is supposed to make them strong enough to make the rest of the worlds bow down to them," reported Sage.

Reixka and Sage exchanged a quick, communicative glance as they tried to remember what else needed to be said. "Oh, and he mentioned something about a kid, but I don't think that's all that important..."

Once again, the front door flew open. This time, a pair of frenzied teenagers stood in its doorway. "That kid is so important," replied Caleb. Arach sent his son a glance that clearly said that now was not the time to interrupt, but Caleb went on, "Christian was just in the Marketplace. Camilla left with him."

**XxxxxX**

_'You're being foolish, Christian,' _came Ciara's voice, echoing through Christian's mind. His eyebrows furrowed at the fact that his imaginary friend was still talking to him -- even while he had Camilla in his presence. However, he chose to ignore the voice and focus on the girl standing before him, instead. They were standing in a large garden behind the house Christian was staying in with Xemnas and Saïx. Camilla looked around with a mixture of awe and concern on her face, but he still thought she looked breathtaking.

"Who would have thought that Xemnas and Saïx have a place like this where they live," she remarked before reaching out to touch a sunflower.

Christian had to agree with her as he looked around at the assortment of flowers. He brushed a purple flower with berries growing on it. He could not remember the whole name but thought it was something with the word 'nightshade' in it. Ciara's voice became painstakingly loud for a few moments, and he did not realize that Camilla was speaking until the voice in his head receded. She glanced at him with something of annoyance, her coral lips pursed in a thin line. "Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry, what?"

Camilla rolled her eyes before repeating, "You know that last time I saw Xemnas and Saïx, it wasn't on the best of terms. I recall being thrown out of their castle, actually..."

"They'll just be happy that you've reformed," answered Christian. "Because coming here with me is a sign of that."

Her expression softened at his words and she looked back at the sunflower. "Is it?" asked Camilla softly. "I don't know. I'm not sure what I want."

_'Told you,' _hissed Ciara.

"That's a lie," replied Christian, just as confident as ever. "If you weren't sure about what you wanted, you wouldn't have come with me. You came with me, didn't you?"

Camilla nodded her agreement although she still did not look at him. She reached out a picked a blue-violet flower. "You're right."

"An ayame," informed a new voice, startling them. A portal had appeared in the middle of the garden, and a wounded Farkas stepped out. "Blood Iris, in other words. Always a favorite for all of my girls," he added, licking his lips.

"You look.. nice," commented Christian as he and Camilla examined the Nobody, who was covered in numerous wounds.

Farkas snorted. "Can the smart remarks, kid. So, you actually recruited one, huh? Way to go," he said with the least amount of enthusiasm Christian had ever heard. "I have some things to discuss with Xemnas and Saïx." And, without another word, Farkas disappeared into the house.

Camilla handed Christian the freshly-picked flower. "Him, too? Are you sure I'm going to be safe in this house?"

"Of course," replied Christian as he took the flower from her and pulled her into a hug. "No one's got a vendetta against you." He looked toward a different section of the garden where more irises grew. Christian blinked a few times, but the flowers still appeared to him. They moved apart as if someone was running through them, but it was only in the iris section and no wind was blowing.

**XxxxxX**

**-Radiant Garden: Later that Night-**

"Poor Nalani," sighed Naminé, who was one of the remaining few sitting in Merlin's living room. She was sitting in an armchair, her blue eyes staring into the flames of the fireplace. "She was having a difficult time at the Coliseum, and then she comes home to find out her daughter's gone -- again."

Kiera, who had been curled up on the sofa beside Riku, raised her head and pursed her lips. "Camilla didn't do it for no reason. She's _smart_ and knows what she's doing."

"Or so you think," argued Quince, who was sitting on a love seat facing the sofa.

"No, there's no thinking about it; I know," replied Kiera cooly. "I think I know Camilla a little better than you, just maybe, you know," she added in a sarcastic tone.

Naminé immediately changed the subject. "Has anyone heard anything from Roxas, Axel or Maggie?"

Elie scratched the back of her head as she leaned back on the loveseat and stretched her arms, smacking Quince in the process. "Well, you have nothing to worry about, Nam. But, I have a feeling that anyone who likes Maggie will be sorely disappointed when Roxas and Axel come back. They'll probably have pushed her off a tree, or something, by now. I would."

"That's because you're part of a special breed," yawned Kiera, whose voice still held an unmistakable edge as she gazed at Quince with her seafoam-colored eyes.

Riku shook his head. "If there are two people we don't have to worry about, they're Axel and Roxas," he reassured Naminé. "And, despite the odds, I'm willing to bet that Camilla will be fine, too," he added to Kiera. "I think I'm going to bed; see you guys tomorrow morning. Maybe then we can figure out a better plan." He kissed Kiera's forehead before heading for the door. "'Night Elie, Naminé, Kiera." Quince had his lips pursed shut, his eyes staring at Kiera, while she purposely stared at the ground.

"I guess that's our cue," remarked Naminé, who sensed Quince wanted to speak with Kiera. "We're getting up pretty early tomorrow, Elie. Let's go to bed."

"Huh?" asked Elie, her eyebrows furrowed together. "But Kiera's still..." Naminé threw her a quick, furitive glance. "Oh! Alright. Nighty-night!" Once Naminé and Elie went upstairs, it became even more challenging to pretend that Quince was not staring intently at her.

Kiera's resolve finally broke, and she looked up at Quince. "Yes?"

"Now is a really random time to mention it, but Dean Verde's been calling me up like crazy since school started. Sounds like you've been getting yourself into a bit of trouble," remarked Quince, still staring at Kiera seriously.

She shrugged. "It's not that bad, really. I just have slip-ups."

"Every day?"

"With the pressure I'm under, they're lucky I don't shoot up the school," stated Kiera, though it was quite obvious that she was kidding. Quince did not so much as crack a smile. "Come on.. You don't have to worry about it."

Quince raised an eyebrow. "Then, who does? The hobo on the street that takes care of you? Kiera, you're my daughter--"

"--That's the funny thing, though, 'cause I'm really not." Quince's facial expression was that of being punched in the face. "Blood doesn't determine anything. Camilla's like my sister because she and I are so close and her mom and mine are... -- or, I guess, were -- close. Anali's my cousin, not because we have the same blood, but because our mothers are as good as sisters -- two sides of the same coin, but you get what I'm saying. So, just because you and I have the same blood doesn't make me your daughter. I'm Riku's daughter because he raised me. Ryley is your son because you raised him.

"I don't want to be forced to act a certain way because it just so happens that you're my actual father, which only happened because my mother made another stupid mistake. Like this, I don't feel right around you and I definitely don't feel right around Ryley. And Ryley doesn't feel right about you, either. So, maybe instead of being so focused on me, you should focus on Ryley and insist that even if he has the blood of a madman running through him that he's still your son. Don't just give up because your brother 'won'."

Quince shook his head. "What makes you so smart, huh? You don't know everything."

"I know enough. So does Camilla, and maybe that's why she left. At least... At least she's happy."

"You're tired, so you're saying things you don't mean," concluded Quince as he rose from the arm of the loves seat. "Get a good night's sleep, and I'm sure you'll feel differently in the morning. Oh, and one more thing? I'm sure I don't have to say this since Camilla's... gone, but I don't want you to re-dye your streaks anymore. Goodnight." Kiera held her breath until she heard the creaking of the stairs cease, signaling that Quince was gone. She released the air in a hiss and stared into the fire for a while, not quite wanting to see more visions of her mother, or the girl with the lavender-streaks. She wondered, as she watched the flames dance, if she should have mentioned that she had not touched her hair in a while. Kiera also wondered if the thought should have concerned her.

**XxX**

"We made a mistake, you know." A soft, feminine voice stated. "Not really 'we'... but not really 'you', either. I don't know who we can blame, but we probably shouldn't blame anyone. Come on, Sora. For once I can talk to you, and you're not even listening to me." The voice was becoming less soft and more annoyed; it resembled Kairi's ever so slightly.

Sora pushed himself upward as his eyes flew open. He was sitting on the islet off of the Children's Island back at home, and someone dressed in a long black jacket was standing in front of him. "I wonder who you would see if I turn around," mused the girl. "Different people see different things. I bet I can guess who you'll see..." The figure slowly turned, throwing off her hood in the process.

"Kairi," remarked Sora. "But you don't sound like her," he added with confusion. "You don't sound like her, either."

The girl nodded to herself, smiling. "I swear that I'm never going to get through to you keyblade wielders... Too old, I guess," she teased. "But, honestly, Sora. I have something important to say to you."

"When Jiminy Cricket decided not to check out the relevance of the 'Thank Naminé' message, he missed out on a whole lot. So, instead, the King sent you, Kairi and Riku a different letter. And, because of it, you were able to guide the Princess, and still managed to help Roxas and Naminé, but a lot of other people suffered... They waited in the darkness for something that never came. I waited, too, but I wasn't freed either." The girl who was not quite Kairi stared at the sand. "And, because of that, you and your friends have been struggling against the same enemies for most of your lives."

Sora did not quite understand. "So... that means that, whoever we were supposed to help, they could have helped us with the Organization and Dennis in the very beginning?"

"Oh, yes," answered the girl. "There would have been so many less casualties, too. That boy, Ceron, would not have been killed, neither would your daughter... So many people suffering, still. But, I guess that's what happens sometimes. If a detail is looked over, a completely different thing occurs. There's still time to make it right, though."

Nodding as he stood, Sora eagerly asked, "How?"

The girl pulled her hood back over her head. Kairi's face disappeared, and the girl's skin became much tanner. "I'm afraid," she answered with a sad smile, "that only one person can fix it, and it's not you. Well, two people, actually. Still, neither are you. But, to make it right, something wrong must be done. Many wrongs, in fact. Selfish things on the one person's account, and desperate on the other."

"Who is it that has to do this?" demanded Sora.

"A teenage boy and a woman you know well, one who is lost to the darkness, and whose heart is causing Xemnas and Saïx," she spit the names like poison, "to win. In order to get that woman back, the boy must steal and do much wrong that will ultimately result in a revival that you won't like. And, once that happens, if things go right... You may still be in a lot of trouble. But you can help those people who have been lost to death and the darkness."

Sora frowned. "I really wish you would be clearer... Who are you?"

"Me? I'm just another person who wasn't meant to exist."

**XxxxxX**

**(A/n: Warning - birth by sleep spoiler(s) coming up!)**

"Oh, another one," came the unsurprised remark of a woman. A single light rained down from the 'sky' in the midst of the complete darkness, illuminating her features. "They seem to come and go all the time, don't they?"

"Yes," answered a man with an english accent as a light beamed onto him as well. "But they never stay. I'm never quite sure whether or not that is a good thing."

The woman sighed. "No good for us. We've been stuck here for so long that I'm not sure we'll ever get out."

"I understand that you two are used to each other, but could you not talk like I'm not here?" demanded an annoyed voice. "Where am I, anyway?"

The woman squinted her blue eyes. "Come closer." The other person did as was requested and was also covered in the light. "You're young. How does someone so young get stuck in a place like this? Though, I do suppose it's not so bad. At least there is some signs of light, even though it's fake."

"I get stuck in this place all the time," answered Stefa, who was now a great deal younger. She glanced down at herself, dressed in the tube top and the red skirt once more. "But I'm... a teenager again. Why?"

"Your heart's true nature?" guessed the blue-eyed, blue-haired woman. "I'm really not an expert on this. He and I have been trapped in the dark realm on accident. But not you?"

Stefa shook her head. "My heart was stolen from me. Literally. But... I'm special, I guess, so all I get to do is wander the dark realm. Again. I'm starting to not remember things so much," she added, complaining.

"I have forgotten everything about my life," remarked the english-accented man. "You seem to trigger something in my memory, but I cannot quite place it."

"With or without the hood, I doubt I'd recognize you. I've never heard your voice in my life," said Stefa, almost apologetically. "There is another side to me than what I thought was possible. I have a Nobody, but I've never had a darkness. Yet, there's this girl walking around who faintly resembles me and sounds like me but... she's so unlike me."

The blue-haired woman nodded. "Then, she must be your Heartless. Typically the Heartless is unlike the original person, right, Ansem?"

The man, Ansem, nodded. "That is something that sounds familiar to me. I believe that is true."

"Wait, Ansem. Like Ansem the Wise?" asked Stefa, her eyes shrugged in response to her question, and she could have hit her forehead. He had lost his memories, so it was unlikely he could remember his title. "Well, if that is you... You're the one who discovered me, the princess with the strange heart. But none of your reports say why. I have so many questions. Maybe you two are the ones to go to."

Ansem shook his head. "I cannot assist you unless I leave this darkness. I remember nothing with this fog."

"And, you?" questioned Stefa of the woman.

She shrugged. "I remember some things. My name is not one of them."

"If you understand hearts... I know this boy -- err, man -- named Sora. He was once attacked by a Heartless that took away his ability to wield a keyblade, but then he got it back. Can you explain that."

The woman smiled. "I'm no scientist, but I recognize that name, Sora. And, if I had to guess, it was because the Heartless briefly weakened his heart, but then he strengthened it back up. Or, there's another theory.**"**

"What's that?" asked Stefa.

"It could also be due to the fact that the other one in his heart helped him."

"Well, he did regain the power when he was trying to save his girlfriend," recalled Stefa. "That probably did it. I guess it was just not an answer that ever satisfied me..."

The woman shook her head. "I was actually thinking about the other person within his heart, one whose name also means wind. It's possible that Ventus awoke, however briefly, and their combined strength recalled the keyblade." **(End Spoilers)**

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**A/n: I love catching up on Kingdom Hearts games. :) Birth by Sleep spoilers as well as Days (though I'm guessing everyone's done with it by now) and Coded will be throughout this story and the next, just as a warning. Uhh. Nothing much to say. :) This story has an actual direction now! Yay! Until the next chapter... :D**


	16. Verae

**Chapter Sixteen**:  
Verae

**A/n: So, I can't see this story going over twenty chapters. That's good... and bad. I just don't want to drag this out because that's ver' bad. Enjoy the chapter!**

_'You think you own me, you should've known me._

_You took the future and the food off my family's plate._

_You think you'll use me, I'm stronger than you._

_You take my money, but it's useless when you see what I do to you.' _

**-"Dirt Room" by Blue October**

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* * *

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The knock at "her" door startled Kiera somewhat, but not enough to make her dab the nail polish brush on the bed. She glanced at digital clock beside the bed and noted, without much feeling, that it was about four in the morning. "Come in," she called, curious as to whom could be at her door so early in the morning.

Slowly, the door creaked open. "Hi," came the voice of a young man. Ryley, looking sheepish and dead tired, was hesitantly hovering in the doorway.

"So, are you going to stay out there all night or come in?" wondered Kiera without looking at him as she continued to paint her toe nails. She was satisfied when she heard the door close but noticed Ryley's shadow still inside. Finally, she paused and looked up at him, noticing the scratches and other results of Dissolve and Decay on his face. "Camilla was pretty angry."

Ryley frowned. "It's not funny," he informed her with a warning tone. Kiera cracked a smile and began to giggle, which she covered with a cough. He slowly lowered himself onto the bed beside her. "What do you know about Christian?"

Kiera looked up at him with a frown of her own. "You're coming into my room at four in the morning to talk about another man? I must admit that I'm insulted, Ry."

He ignored her. "So?"

She shrugged. "Not a whole lot," she admitted. "He's about your height. His hair's not too long, probably a little shorter than yours, it's brown with a red sheen. His eyes are dark brown. That's pretty much it. He lives in Lomura Kai, he gave Camilla that pretty necklace, he's Maggie's nephew..."

Ryley nodded. "Okay. So, what if I said that I've been seeing this kid in my dreams for a while."

"I'd wonder if you're going to break up with me soon in favor of him," she replied. "Have you heard his name?"

"In my dreams? Yeah. But... that's the odd thing.' Ryley hesitated before continuing, "I've seen two other people, too. Two people you wouldn't expect to really see together, especially with a kid."

Kiera raised an eyebrow, instantly interested. "I'm listening."

"I've been seeing Tiesa and Cane, too."

"Oh. Well. That can't be... good. And you saw them with Christian?" she asked; Ryley nodded. "What does that mean?"

Ryley took off his hat and began to bend and unbend his hat's bill. "Farkas did say something about them having a kid on their side that would mean our end."

"Yeah... but why?" questioned Kiera. "I miss the days where one of the only things I had to worry about was hitting the right note in choir. Now everything's complicated and shit. And I do mean everything. Even, and especially us." She closed the nail polish and screwed the top tightly as she turned toward Ryley. "What's going on with us?"

He seemed to chew it over in his head for a moment or so before answering. "We keep clashing, on really stupid things, too." Kiera heard what Ryley was not saying.

With a deep sigh, she dropped her head on his shoulder. "You think we're growing apart."

**XxxxxX**

"We've been searching here for how long? And we haven't even found anything," pointed out Roxas as he sat himself down on a broken down tree trunk. "I think it's time to give up. I have no clue where Tarzan or Jane are, but there's nothing here."

Axel crossed his arms as he leaned against a tree. "Isn't that strange, though? There should at least be some gorillas _somewhere_."

Maggie sighed. "Gorillas are afraid of humans. Why would we see any?"

"But not even the scent of one or a slight glance as one passes by? We've been here for at least two days now. By now, we should have at least seen a hint of one," stated Axel with a glowering stare at Maggie. "There's something going on here."

"I'm sure you have a really great sixth sense, but I have a woman's intuition and there's nothing going on here. The humans that did live here left and that's all there is to it," argued Maggie as she allowed her sun keyblade to disappear. Just as she spoke, something rustled in the trees behind them. Axel sent an 'I-told-you-so' glance Maggie's way as Roxas slowly moved forward with Oblivion in his hand. He poked through some bushes and looked over a few to find a baby gorilla with a thick coat of velvety-looking black fur.

Roxas shook his head as he turned away from the terrified creature, which had become still as soon as Roxas discovered it. "You're both wrong, so shut up. I guess there is nothing to see here... Let's go."

The gorilla rustled in the bushes once more but, this time, it jumped up. And, much to Maggie and Axel's surprise, it had its teeth bared as well as long claws that no gorilla should have, particularly not a baby. "Roxas, duck," ordered Axel as he summoned his Chakram. Roxas did as he was told and Axel sent a blast of fire at the baby gorilla, which was not so much a gorilla after all. Axel noticed the Heartless Emblem on its chest before the fire destroyed it. A small pink heart floated into the sky.

"Huh," started Maggie as she watched the heart with her eyes. "I guess something's going on after all. That was my first feeling, but I wanted Axel to feel like he was smart, so I didn't say anything."

Axel gritted his teeth and pointed the Chakram at the blonde, but he was quickly halted as Roxas pushed him back a little. "Calm down, killer. We need her help if we do happen upon Christian." In response, Axel dropped his head and muttered mutinously under his breath.

"Now what?" inquired Maggie as she rested on her keyblade.

Roxas groaned a little. "I guess we keep doing what we've been doing for the past couple days: search. Hopefully, now that we have a lead, we'll actually find something."

**XxxxxX**

"Camilla, Christian," began Xemnas from the top of the grand staircase once the two teenagers had appeared in the Foyer. "Now that we have two of you and much more power over the worlds, I have tougher jobs for you. I will send you to different worlds to more thoroughly gain control over those worlds for our sake. But, the job is very, very dangerous, so I have designed -" Saïx made a coughing noise somewhere behind Xemnas "- special armor for you. You'll find them in your rooms."

"Is that it?" questioned Christian. Xemnas nodded and the duo set off together for their rooms.

Once they were alone in the hallway, Camilla whispered, "Christian... This isn't what I want."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Camilla gave him a look. "I don't want to destroy any worlds, Christian. I just want you."

"This is the only way for us to be together," he remarked. "So, if you have any better plan, tell me."

She stopped in the middle of the hallway and nodded, her arms crossing over tee, which depicted a cheese grater and two pieces of cheese. "Okay. Come back to the Radiant Garden with me. If you go, the others will have no problem forgiving what you've done. Even my father can respect that; he's been in your place."

Christian chuckled, a smile beginning to form on his lips. "I can't do that."

"Why not?" demanded Camilla.

"Because I like this. I like my life here. I like the power, the recognition, the appreciation..."

"...Appreciation?" repeated Camilla. "What appreciation? Saïx and Xemnas don't give a fuck what you're doing for them, Christian. You're replaceable in their eyes. And they definitely would never thank you for what you're doing."

Christian frowned. "How do you know that?" he demanded hotly.

"Because I've been down this road before. Do you think Cane ever thanked me for bringing different worlds to their knees? Do you think Xemnas was appreciative when Kiera, Ry, and I decided to help him instead of Cane? Hell no."

"I've got potential, though," he replied proudly.

Camilla's eyes widened before narrowing. "And I don't?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "You've become different since all of this started, Chris. What happened to the guy who unnecessarily came to my rescue in Seventeen Forever? You're not the same guy. All you care about is your power over Heartless because you've never had any sort of power over your life before."

"Cam, come on," said Christian, calming down as she became angrier. "You know I love you."

"You can't use love to manipulate someone else," growled Camilla. Although angry, she felt as though the anger was also stemming from some other source. "In fact, you know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were Cane himself. He enjoyed manipulating people into doing what he wanted. But, I guess, since you've had a nice life, you don't know how much of an insult that is."

Christian pursed his lips. "I have a pretty good idea, I think. You're overreacting."

"No, I'm not. But I am going home," she said as she began to head for her room. He grabbed her wrist, and she looked back with a glare that had the potential to kill. "What?"

"You can't leave. You have no way to leave."

Camilla laughed humorlessly. "Wanna bet? I'm willing to turn even to the darkness to get away from you."

"Well, that's silly because I _am _the darkness. Wherever you turn, you'll always be turning to me, Camilla." Christian and Camilla simply stared at each other, her glare fading to a look of confusion and a little bit of fear. He was astonished by his words and had no idea where they came from. _'You're welcome, Christian,' _said Ciara. Meanwhile, Camilla slipped her wrist out of his grip and disappeared into her room.

**XxxxxX**

Just a few hours after Ryley and Kiera stopped conversing in her room, and an hour after they both finally managed to fall asleep, there was a large meeting in Merlin's living room. Because there were so many people inside, he had to use magic to expand the room. "Still no report from Roxas, Axel, and Maggie," remarked Leon as he ran a hand through his greying brown hair. "That's no good."

"Maybe they found something," suggested Riku. "Some lead we can actually go on."

Reixka waved her arms. "Hey, wasn't our lead decent enough for you?"

"No," snorted Riku in reply. "Just another puzzle that's meaningless to us unless we actually manage to find Xemnas and the others."

Sage nodded his head a little. "That's true. I guarantee you that if we can find Camilla, then we can end all of this."

"But there's no way to find her," sighed Nalani. "How the hell are we supposed to find her? The universe is way too huge."

Kairi raised an unsteady hand. "I'm usually not a big supporter of this, but if we all split up, someone's bound to find something." No one shouted in response to contradict this suggestion.

"So, you guys break into teams of two. That should yield something," decided Paine.

Kiera sat patiently on the back of one of the sofas, her legs swinging back and forth to kick at the furniture. She had a better idea, but if everyone wanted to split up and revisit the same worlds they had already seen... "Well, I think Naminé, Nalani and I should go back to Olympus and find Hercules. Zeus could be a huge help."

"Fine," agreed Leon. "And the rest of you, take whatever world you feel is a good idea."

When Kiera felt that she still had a better idea, she called together her friends and they all headed to the Bailey. She sat on the small ledge overlooking the Great Maw and looked at them all with purpose. "Guys," she began to Kamon, Deirdre, Anali, Caleb, Kaspar, Cashel, Laine and Ryley, "I've thought of something that the adults either didn't think of or don't want to do."

"Something with the darkness," guessed Caleb immediately, earning himself a surprised glance from Kiera. "You and Camilla are so predictable."

"Well, yeah," answered Kiera lamely. The others immediately began to chat wildly. "Wait, wait. Shut up. Come on, hear me out. Where could you expect to find Xemnas and Saïx? Steeped in darkness. Even if our parents search through familiar worlds for eternity, they'll never find Camilla and the others. We need to go somewhere new, some world in the dark realm. Of course, pretty soon the light realm will become the dark realm, but still..."

Kamon shook his head. "No way, Kiera. The darkness isn't the way to go."

However, everyone else replied with, "I'm in." Kamon looked around wildly.

"Seriously?" he demanded.

Deirdre shrugged. "Kiera's got a pretty good point."

"But who knows what we'll be exposing ourselves to," argued Kamon.

Kiera nodded a little as she played with her hair. The stripes were thicker than the night before. "Yeah, but aren't we a small price to pay for the rest of the universe? It's your choice; it's whatever you're comfortable with. But, sometimes, you have to look in the place that you'd least expect, no?"

There was a loud thump of steel-toed boots on the concrete as Aerith jumped to the bottom of the stairs and faced all of them with a disapproving glance. "I'm surprised at you guys," she informed them.

"Ugh, you're not going to tell our parents, are you?" groaned Deirdre.

Aerith's frown turned to a smirk. "Just the opposite. I'm going to help you out because I know nothing I say will make a difference, anyway. So, I'm going to make sure that the darkness doesn't get the best of your weak hearts. You all just stay here, and I'll be back in a few."

The group exchanged perplexed looks. "I wonder what that was about?" asked Anali.

When Aerith returned about fifteen minutes later, she was lugging a large sack behind her. She dumped the bag in the center of their little circle. A few hundred accessories that guarded against the darkness fell before them. "There you go. You guys can thank me later. If they ask me were you've gone, I'll make up something, but it shouldn't be much of an issue... I don't think they expected any of you to leave in the first place."

"And what are you going to do?" asked Deirdre suspiciously.

Aerith smiled sweetly. "Keep my lips shut. But, if you guys get in trouble, don't come crawling to me. Oh. Something else that might help you..." She grabbed the small pack off her back and dumped that, too. A few compacts and a bunch of GBA's clattered to the ground. "It's to keep in contact. I have my number already programmed, but no one else's. I have all of your parents and shit. But, just in case someone loses their nerve," she stared purposely at Kamon, "I don't want you all to lose your chance. So... just call me if you need anything. You all have each other's numbers, just in case you get separated." She grinned. "Be glad I've spent so much time with Cid. Good luck!" she added before giving Kaspar a quick kiss. "Be careful." Then, she was gone.

After everyone grabbed their own communicator, Kiera straightened up. "Okay, I guess this is it. I'll open a portal and, from there, you can split up or go with someone. Just follow the corridors to wherever you want." She held her left hand out and was quite surprised when the portal easily appeared before it. "Call me if you find the need." She thought about what a shame it was that Camilla had never gotten one before leaving.

**XxxxxX**

Christian had not admired himself for very long in the uniform/armor before setting off to his destination, which had been given to him via a note atop the armor. As he appeared in a house overlooking a whole forest, he glanced at his reflection in a broken mirror. He wore a green shirt with a Heartless symbol printed on the front that had black stemming from it like the legs of a large insect. From his hands to his elbows, he wore a long glove made of green metal. His steel-toed boots were colored green and black, and he wore kneepads of the same color that were also made of metal. Each piece of armor had the same millipede-like leg design on it. The mirror was horribly spider-webbed and distorted his reflection quite a bit, but he still decided that he was satisfied with it.

"So, Xemnas suggested that I find the keyhole? Don't know why I'd bother," remarked Christian as he turned from the mirror and looked out of one of the mirrors to find a gathering of Heartless already forming. "But I guess I'll humor him."

**XxX**

"There! Another one!" Maggie's shout was so urgent as she hid behind Axel that he half-expected what she saw to be an important, difficult Heartless. Instead, it was just another millipede. Rolling his eyes, Axel humored her and killed it with a blast of fire. "Phew."

"Maggie, we're in a forest. Odds are you're going to see a lot of bugs. Next time you shout like that, there better be a big Heartless or Xemnas, otherwise I'm going to shoot _you _with fire," warned Axel as he moved at a double-pace to catch up with Roxas, who was working on cutting through a thick throng of Power Wilds. Maggie huffed and quickly caught up to the other two.

Roxas shook his head as he shot a Fira spell at a Power Wild. "I don't understand. For two days, there was nothing here. Now, all of a sudden, there are so many Heartless that we can't take two steps without being faced with a whole legion.

"Maybe there's something important in whatever's north of here," suggested Maggie. Roxas and Axel both sent her glances that made her feel like a very small idiot.

Axel gestured for Roxas to move as he concentrated a lot of his energy in the chakrams. A large blast of fire shot out that ridded them of most of the Heartless. "Then, I say, let's hurry up and see." They ran through the opening, slashing away any other Heartless that got in their way. Eventually, a long path led out of the forest and wound up to a tall, decrepit tree house. More Heartless stood in their way, but they pushed them out of their way. When they reached the foot of the tree house, they noticed a figure passing by one of its shattered windows.

Roxas dropped down into the netting below the house and found a ladder that led up to the large balcony. He went first, then Axel, and Maggie picked up the rear. They ducked against the side of the house, between two windows. Maggie slightly peered into one of the windows and Roxas looked through the other as Axel listened to someone throwing around things inside. "No, Ciara. I really don't think that the keyhole's in here."

Both Maggie and Roxas pulled away from the windows and shared an incredulous stare. "What?" demanded Axel.

"The kid inside is talking inside of there," remarked Maggie.

"Duh," mumbled Axel.

"But he's talking like someone else is with him. There's no one else in there," added Roxas. "Creepy."

Axel nodded. "Is his back to us?" The other two nodded. "So, jump through the windows and we'll ambush him." The decision was unanimous. On Axel's count, Maggie and Roxas jumped through the windows while Axel blasted a hole into the side. **(A/n: Hereeeee's Axel!) **

The kid turned around with a surprised expression. When his eyes fell upon Maggie, he became even more surprised. "Aunt Maggie?" he asked at the same time as she exclaimed, "Christian?"

"So this is Christian?" asked Axel with some shock. "I figured he'd look... Weaker, like you," he added to Maggie, who frowned. "Then again, he's Destine's kid, not yours."

Roxas shrugged. "That explains the whole talking to himself thing."

"Aunt Maggie, what are you doing with them?"

"'Them'?" repeated Axel before looking at Roxas. "I guess he really is working with Xemnas and Saïx."

Maggie ignored the men as she approached her nephew. "I've been trying to find you. Wow, I can't actually believe that you're here... Christian, I've been so worried. Please come home."

Christian took a step backwards, a haughty look setting in on his face. "No."

"No?" repeated Maggie. "Christian, you're coming home. _Now._ No more screwing around. I don't want you to end up like your mother."

"What? Crazy, alone, and dead?" he asked, satisfied when she cringed. "I'm not leaving until I find out the truth about myself. And, even then... I like this. I'm free to do whatever I want, and I can make anyone obey me; I have _power _now."

Maggie shook her head. "This isn't you talking; this has to be your mother. This is how your mother and all of her stupid friends talked before they left and... That's not you. Christian, does it really matter what you've come from? All that matters is who you become. I love you. I love you a lot more than your stupid mother ever did."

"Don't talk about her that way!" shouted Christian.

"What? The truth? Christian, she only stopped in Lomura Kai to dump you on me. She was too busy trying to get revenge, too happy with taking orders from that madman..."

"She... She..." Christian didn't know what to say. So, he settled for, "Shut up." The Dark Keyblade flashed into his hand in an instant. "You're not in charge of me anymore. In fact, really, I'm in charge of _you_." A plethora of Knights began to appear.

Axel and Roxas instantly stepped forward. They slashed at the Knights as soon as they appeared, and they were gone in seconds. "Face it, kid, you're no match for us. Why don't you tell us where Xemnas is hiding?" suggested Axel. "It'll make your life a whole lot easier."

Christian scowled and stared at the ground, watching a few millipedes crawl around his feet. "I'm still not strong enough..." _'I can help you. But I need your help. You need to call out to the darkness, I need your heart to scream for it. Can you do that?' _"Yes," answered Christian, uncaring about the stares his aunt and the two men were fixing him with. He closed his eyes and the trio instantly felt colder. His heart began to beat faster and, when he opened his eyes, darkness surrounded his body. As this happened, about thirty millipedes appeared and scuttled into various parts of the room. But, just as quickly as it came, it left and Christian fell to the floor. A breeze drifted through the room, which was odd since the trees weren't swaying outside.

"What's going on right now?" demanded Maggie of Axel and Roxas.

Axel shrugged. "I don't know. This is like something out of the Exorcist..." A giggle sounded and the sky became darker. "Creepy."

Footsteps echoed through the room although no one moved. "Move, Axel!" shouted Maggie as she caught the glimpse of some sort of object hanging over the redhead. The object struck down too quickly for Axel to react, and he collapsed to the floor. Roxas backed away, summoning Oathkeeper to his hand as well as he stared at the object. It was not a simple object, but a keyblade. In fact, it was a very familiar keyblade.

"That's Stefa's," remarked Roxas with awe. "Dark Thorn!" Sure enough, the keyblade was black with a number of dead-looking, black-colored thorns decorating it. "But... I don't understand. Stefa's ghost?"

Axel groaned as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Why would she want to hit me on the back of the head?"

"Why not?" replied Roxas with a shrug. The sky was steadily becoming darker until it turned to a black and purple color. Then, the keyblade disappeared. The three gazed around the room but could not find it. "I really hope this is a horrible dream or hallucination."

"I knew we shouldn't have eaten those mushrooms..." murmured Axel.

Then, Dark Thorn reappeared on the north side of the tree house, atop the small second floor balcony. When it reappeared, a girl with forest green eyes also appeared. Her hair was fairly long and a white blond with lavender streaks running through it and curled at the bottom. She wore a long black tanktop with cloth that wrapped around her arms in an 'x' design, a blue-violet skirt over a pair of short leggings, and a pair of black steel-toed boots. She blinked her eyes dolefully. Had it not been for her hair and darker-colored eyes, she could have been Stefa. "Who are you?" demanded Roxas as he took a few steps forward. "Are you in alliance with Xemnas and Saïx?"

"No," snorted the girl. "Do I look crazy to you?" Axel looked like he very much wanted to answer this question but did not.

Instead, he asked, "So, who are you? Anti-Stefa?"

"My name is Keira."

"Kiera?" repeated Axel and Roxas incredulously.

"Keira with an 'e', 'i' you morons," growled Keira. "I don't expect you to know me, not really."

Maggie waved them all off. "So, if you're not working with Xemnas, then who are you working with?"

"Me, myself, and I... for now," she replied as she played with a charm that hung from her silver necklace. "I've been helping out Christian for a bit, though. He's a very lonely, confused boy. He's also been lied to quite a bit; I feel bad for him."

"So that's your excuse for using him to gain power?" remarked Axel. "You could at least be honest about it."

Keira dropped from the second floor and put an affectionate hand on the boy's shoulder. "I am being honest. I feel bad for the kid, especially when he has a weak-hearted aunt like you. At least his parents were pretty good."

"Destine? You think Destine was good?" asked Roxas.

Her eyebrows furrowed together. "...Destine?" One eyebrow raised over the other. "Not Destine, you moron. You know, Tiesa." The other three repeated the name. "Come on, you had to have known. This kid doesn't look like Destine."

"He doesn't look like Tiesa, either," pointed out Axel.

Keira shook her head. "Enough," she said in a cool voice. "I've had enough of the mindless chit-chat."

"Then, why don't you give us some answers?" demanded Roxas.

"If you really want to know, then my mission is simple: Help out the kid."

"What do you want in return?" wondered Axel.

A smile upturned the corners of Keira's lips. "That's for me to know. It'll be a huge payoff, though. For a few parties, at least. In fact, by that time, it won't even matter to you who I am."

"Especially if we get rid of you now!" Roxas charged with his two keyblades.

The room was filled with a lot of miscellaneous crap that had once very obviously had meaning to the people who had lived there. Right now, the only important thing to Maggie was that Christian was passed out on the north side of the room with Keira standing over him and Roxas was running toward them both, possibly endangering her nephew. As Keira stared at Roxas with a bored expression, she took her hand away from the charm and Roxas slid to a stop, causing him to slid to a stop into a mirror in the process. She was wearing Stefa's necklace.

Keira calmly moved into the center of the room as Roxas' breathing hitched in the corner. The mirror, what was left of it, was covered with his blood, and he had been stuck by several pieces in different parts of his body. She approached Maggie, and got within one foot of her without any sort of reaction from the blonde. "You seem afraid of me; I can't understand why. Is it because I'm smarter than you? Is it because I knew, all along, that your nephew really wasn't your nephew at all?"

"What are you?" breathed Maggie.

"The embodiment of darkness," answered Keira. She gestured with her right, free, hand in a slicing motion that made an 'x' shape. Seconds later, a crisscross of darkness was dealt over Maggie's stomach, slicing through the white shirt and cutting through her body. Blood poured out of her stomach, but she did not fall. Keira held her shoulders. "You understand now, yes?" Maggie shook her head vigorously as blood began to pour out of her mouth. Keira giggled, a grin on her face as she released Maggie's right shoulder. Dark Thorn entered through her stomach via the gash.

Maggie groaned, more blood coming out of her mouth. "Can't you see it, Maggie?" whispered Keira. "This doesn't have to be me doing it. It could just as easily be him."

"Yes," murmured Maggie, spitting blood out of her mouth in the process. Keira nodded her approval before stepping back into the center of the room. On the north side of the room, Roxas and Christian lay motionless. On the south side, Maggie lay dying while Axel stood torn and not sure of what to do.

"What a predicament for you," noted Keira. "Your allies are both no help to you and, obviously, you're no match for me." She stepped closer to Axel, and he moved back, using his chakrams to shoot fire at her. Keira waved her hand and a brief, dark barrier rose before her, deflecting the fireballs away. "See? So, maybe you could help me and maybe I won't hurt you too badly."

Axel took a few more steps backwards until his back was against the wall. "Help you?"

"Help me," she agreed until she was almost completely in his face. Keira put her hand on his chest and over his heart. "Beautiful. It's amazing what a diamond can do once its been harnessed, hm?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Axel.

"You know, Stefa. She's had all of that darkness to deal with, yet she could give you a beating heart. It's quite lovely. Now, tell me. That girl who almost completely shares my name... Where could we find her?"

Axel's eyebrows rose. "Kiera? Find her? Why?"

"She has something that Christian and I want," answered Keira calmly.

"I'm not telling you anything."

Keira smiled to herself and nodded without surprise. "Ah, I get it." Her body disappeared in a flash of darkness and entered Christian's body. Axel took this opportunity to run over to Maggie to see if she was still breathing. She still was, but barely. Her blood ran onto his hands.

Christian slowly sat up and rubbed his head. When he noticed Axel over Maggie's form, he ran over to her, pushing Axel over in the process. "Aunt Maggie, what happened?"

"Christian..." Maggie had to choose her worlds carefully, but she had to be honest. "It's so sweet of you to call me that."

"What? Aunt?" he asked as his eyebrows furrowed together. "Why?"

Maggie could not manage a smile, her face was contorted in pain. She gestured for him to come closer and, when her lips were by his ear, she whispered, "I know I pretty much raised you, but not well, just as good as I could. I shouldn't have even raised you because... Because..." She could not make the words come out as the light in her china-blue eyes faded and her heart stopped beating. Christian immediately rounded on Axel, who had blood on his hands.

"What did you do to her?" he demanded. "You killed her? I thought you were both on the same side?"

Axel was somewhat reminded of Destine's anger when she discovered that Nalani and Arach had killed her sister. They had not been on the same side, but they were still family. He could not formulate a response quick enough for Christian as his hand flashed. However, the Dark Keyblade did not appear in it. This time, the machinelike, Conquer-Control appeared. "...What did she do to you?"

"I'll take away from you what you've taken from me, my only family!" exclaimed Christian as he closed in on Axel much more swiftly than he had imagined. His chakrams flared to life and ignited, but they did not hit Christian; the fire made contact with the wooden walls. Conquer-control was pointed at his heart. "I'll take that away from you, and more." The keyblade went through the clothes and Axel's skin and hit his heart. He became lightheaded and fell to the ground.

The astral form of Keira appeared beside Christian. She gave the blazing treehouse an appraising nod. "Nice work, Christian. Now, with that... We need to find my namesake."

"Kiera? I've heard about her," noted Christian. "If she was in the world where Camilla was, then I can bring us there."

"That may not be necessary. If you can convince Camilla to help you, that may be nice. In fact, that would be the perfect strike for us," noted Keira. "Get on it immediately."

Christian nodded. "Yes, ma'am."


	17. Caught You Now

**Chapter Seventeen:  
**Caught You Now

**A/n: Originally, in the previous chapter, I had the parents leave. But, I went back and changed it. The difference is quite important. So, I couldn't resist updating super fast. This is a super-important chapter!**

_'Nicest, sweetest, upmost in everythingest,_

_So charming, very charming._

_Well read, can play the fool_

_No one's ill at ease and put their_

_Deepest Swiss bank trust in you_

_No one saw it coming...'_

**-"Aha!" by Imogen Heap**

**

* * *

**

Camilla had not yet been ordered to go anywhere, so she was still sitting in her room when Christian moved. Her baby blue-colored uniform/armor sat on the bed, untouched. Christian knocked on her door before entering. "Can I help you?" she asked him as he entered. He nodded, clearly shaken. Blood covered his front and some parts of his arms. "Oh, Chris. What happened?" The harshness faded from her voice as concern set in.

"Not sure... In fact, I can't really remember... But my aunt was dead, in the Deep Jungle. Someone killed her, I think it was that redhead guy with the chakrams..."

"Axel?" demanded Camilla. "No, he'd never do that. Maggie was helping them find you."

Christian shook his head. "No one else could have done it."

"Maggie may have annoyed the hell out of everyone, but they never would have killed her," argued Camilla, careful to not mention that her parents once had. "If you don't remember much... What if you did it?"

He shook his head. "That's something I would have remembered."

"People have blackouts sometimes..." She trailed off. "You haven't been drinking, have you?"

His eyes widened. "What? No! I haven't had a drink since Lomura. Come on, Camilla... I need to get to the bottom of this."

"Is that what you want help with?"

Christian slowly shook his head. "Not exactly."

Camilla's door flew open once again as Farkas barged in. "Good, you two are together. Xemnas and Saïx are sending us on an emergency mission to the Radiant Garden?" At the news, Camilla's jaw dropped open. "Camilla, get your armor on so we can get going."

"What? No. No, I'm not going."

Farkas' eyes narrowed. "If you want to live, you're going. If you don't want to be imprisoned in the dungeon like your mother's best friend, you're going." Camilla looked to Christian for help, but his eyes were going everywhere but in her direction. They were sweeping the room with the utmost haste, as he would get injured by some invisible monster if he didn't constantly look around the room. She bit down on her lip, settling that she had no choice, but hopeful that she could detach herself once they got to the Radiant Garden.

"Get out while I change," she ordered. Farkas yanked Christian, whose eyes were still sweeping the room, out into the hall. Camilla slammed the door shut and locked it before turning back to the bed. As she bent down and grabbed the first piece of armor, she felt a breeze pass over her back. When she looked around, though, nothing was there, and the window was closed.

After about ten minutes, Camilla managed to get on all of the armor. She looked at her reflection and was semi-satisfied with what she saw. Her upper-body was covered by silver armor with a golden trim. It covered her arms, chest and waist completely. Her feet up to her knees were covered by metal boots of the same color as the rest of the armor, and there was even a piece of armor that made a skirt, which only allowed some skin of her stomach to show. As the space between the skirt and boots had exposed her skins to the elements, she opted to cover the space with her legging shorts.

When she emerged, she found Farkas patiently waiting with Christian, who looked much more normal now. "Let's go, I guess," she said in defeat.

"No, I've changed my mind," informed Farkas, his teeth bared in a grin. "Saïx and Xemnas are both leaving, so we need someone to stay here and watch over things. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Of course," answered Camilla with perfect sweetness as she watched Farkas summon a portal that he and Christian quickly disappeared into. Sabotage immediately came to mind, both the song and the idea itself. She crept down the hallway, then the stairs, peering into the dining room and the kitchen. No one was there. "Saïx? Xemnas?" she called, but no one answered. Still, she was worried about whether or not she was alone.

**XxxxxX**

The lighting outside of the Coliseum was hazy, leaving Sora, Naminé and Nalani to guess that it was dawn and quite early. However, as they entered the lobby, they were unsurprised to hear the grunts that went along with training at Olympus. Sora led the way outside where they found Hercules fighting an extreme amount of Heartless. Nalani thought maybe it was just extreme training, but Meg's shout of, "Thank goodness you guys are here! Help Herc!" Chain of Memories, Perfect Killer and Ultima appeared as they rushed into the arena to help out.

Large Bodies, Fat Bandits, and a handful of Grey Caprice surrounded Hercules. "This should be a workout," murmured Nalani before hurling Perfect Killer at a Grey Caprice that was about to send an orb of blue their way. It was immediately destroyed, releasing its captive heart, and Perfect Killer returned to her hand.

"Hey, guys. Nice to see you again," grunted Hercules as he and Sora stood back to back, each fending off a Large Body. Nalani used a Thundaga spell that defeated both Heartless at once. "I've missed how good you are with magic, Nalani."

"Oh, you know. Just doing my previous job," remarked Nalani with a faint grin. "What happened here?"

Hercules shrugged a little. "Well, I was just doing my usual early morning training with Phil-"

"-What time does that happen? One in the morning?"

"Anyway," continued the Boy Wonder. "Then all of these Heartless started to appear."

Naminé bit her lip. The air around them was still foggy and hazy, but there was not a whole lot of sun that could have contributed to it. "There's still no sun. Not even the hint of one," she noted as she sent a Blizzara spell at one of the Caprice.

"Is that important?" asked Hercules as he ducked the fire breath of a Bandit.

Sora nodded. "Sort of," he replied. "Herc, we need to talk to your father."

"Huh?" he asked, stopping in his tracks. "Why?"

"It's about the Heartless and lack of sun," answered Nalani in a blasé fashion as she zapped another few Large Bodies. "Come on. We've helped you out a lot - remember that time when Hades had you chained up? You owe us, and we're not leaving until you help."

Hercules waved her off. "Fine, fine. I'll help you guys, no worries. But we have to take care of these Heartless first."

**XxxxxX**

Kiera received calls from the others on their whereabouts. They had split apart quite quickly, all in groups, though. Deirdre and Kamon had returned to Twilight Town to see the extent of the damage; Caleb, Kaspar, and Cashel returned to Jewel's Grove; Laine and Anali, who had been concerned about her father, traveled to Deep Jungle. She had complained that the others had not journeyed to new worlds, but Kiera could not complain that much. They were all curious about their homes and Kiera in particular could not be unhappy about Caleb, Kaspar, and Cashel's whereabouts. That just left Ryley and Kiera, who were still wandering the corridors.

"Do you think we'd know the place where Camilla was if we saw it? Like... Our hearts would feel it?" asked Kiera of Ryley as she glanced up at him.

"Sure, she's the third musketeer."

Kiera smiled a little as she shook her head and looked ahead. "Uh, no. She's definitely the second. You were the last to join our group, duh." In a more serious tone, she continued, "I don't know. Mom had no clue where Quince **(A/n: Wow. I almost typed 'Queen'...) **and Aunt Nalani were."

"But she didn't see either of the worlds they were in beforehand. Besides, Dad wasn't actually staying in any world; he was always moving, so she couldn't have known," replied Ryley.

"I don't know. I'm afraid that this is hopeless..." She came to a halt as she ran into Ryley. "Ouch. What was that for?"

Ryley had paused and was staring at a different corridor with interest. "This is it. Can't you feel it? This one is the one."

Kiera stared at the corridor for a moment and felt her heartbeat increase. She nodded. "This _is _it. Let's go."

**XxxxxX**

Laine and Anali's portal brought them to a forest, but the end of one. They could see where the forest ended and a different path begun. Another thing they could easily see was a large fire, engulfing something in the distance. Anali only had to exchange a brief glance for a brief moment before they charged out of the forest and up a long, winding path that actually seemed to be the exceptionally long limb or trunk of a tree.

The thing that was on fire appeared to be a house. "Laine, how good is your magic?"

"Okay," answered Laine nervously. "We can't douse the whole fire."

"But what if someone's inside? What if my Dad and Uncle Roxas are? Come on!" Anali called upon Sakura Bond instantly as they dared to get closer to the raging flames. "Waterga!" A large jet of water shot out of the tip of the keyblade and hit a section of the roof, which was instantly doused. She gasped a little as the spell drained her quite a bit. Still, Anali moved onto the balcony with dedication.

Laine followed behind her nervously, afraid that the teenager would get ahead of herself. "Watera!" cried Laine as a smaller stream of water put out another section of the fire. She looked around the balcony, noting that there were sections that were already on fire and were spreading. "Anali, I really think that this is a horrible idea."

"Then, don't follow me," came the reply as Anali ran further down the balcony, avoiding sections of the roof that were falling. She attempted to look in through a window, but it was too smoky to be able to see clearly. She was aware of how irrational she was acting, but also did not care. She just had to find her father, make sure he was okay. Then, she'd be satisfied... A section of the burning roof fell before her, blocking her from moving further. The fire spread onto the balcony more, just before her, and as she backed up, she found herself blocked by another wall of fire. "Water," was the only spell she could cast with the energy she had left. It barely harmed the flames blocking her path. In fact, they grew even higher.

Something white and burned-looking move through the fire, flanked by a few others. Anali shouted with surprise as the white things seized her by the wrists in their mouths and pulled her off the side of the balcony. Much to her shock, she hit something that was fairly stable and stiff. She sat up and saw that the things that had grabbed her were two White Wolves and an Arctic Fox. As Laine joined her, the three Luces disappeared. "That was... smart. Thank you. Sorry, I wasn't thinking, but... My dad, what if-"

Laine was chewing on the inside of her cheek. "No 'what if's about it, Anali. Look." She pointed behind her, near the tree trunk. Axel was laying unconscious on the netting with Roxas sitting over him.

"Uncle Roxas!" called Anali as she stood and staggered over to them. She collapsed before her father. "What happened?"

Roxas stared at her skeptically. "Anali, you shouldn't be here... Your father was attacked by someone, I actually don't know who. I was unconscious at the time."

Anali looked her uncle up and down. He had tears in his clothes and thick cuts on his arms. "Why won't he wake up?"

"I'm not sure. I used a Hi-Potion on him, but he hasn't moved. He's still breathing," he reassured her. "Unlike Maggie. Someone killed her."

Laine looked terrified by the prospect of someone killing Maggie and knocking Axel into unconsciousness and them not knowing who had done it. "Well, we should get you guys back to the Radiant Garden."

Roxas nodded and stood up. "Okay. It's on the other side of the forest though..." He threw Laine the keys. "You and Anali go get it and bring it back here."

"But, should you really be under her? The debris from the fire could fall on you," pointed out Laine.

"Right..." trailed off Roxas. "Anali, help me move him. Then, you two can go get the ship."

**XxxxxX**

Farkas' portal led he and Christian to appear in the empty Postern. "So, where did Xemnas and Saïx go?" questioned Christian casually. Keira's influence over him was currently very little, and his thoughts were on Camilla.

"Saïx is here, summoning a barrier that will disallow any Gummi Ships from coming in or leaving. Xemnas is off somewhere, I'm sure doing something important."

"So, why did we get sent here?" wondered Christian.

"Oh," a grin spread across Farkas' face. "I think you know why. If not, well... Somewhere in there does."

Christian's eyebrows knitted together. "What does that mean?"

"Huh," replied Farkas. "Well, this complicates things..." he mumbled.

Christian and Farkas stood in silence for a few minutes, both staring into the sky as they waited for a sign that Saïx's spell had worked. A minute later, black clouds that could have fooled the residents into think they were storm clouds appeared. "Is that it?" Christian asked Farkas, who nodded.

Farkas drew his falchion. "Okay, kid. You've gotta be ready. You ready?"

Christian nodded and held out his hand, summoning Conquer-Control. He stared at the machinelike keyblade for a few moments. "I don't... remember getting this."

"This should be really fun," murmured Farkas. "Let's go, kid."

**XxX**

Merlin's living room was still congested with the Restoration Committee and the wielders. The door flew open as Kairi, who had been sitting outside for a while, returned to Sora's side. "You know," she began in a loud voice so that the others could hear her. "The sky got really dark all of a sudden."

"Probably a snow storm," remarked Rikku without interest as she lifted Naomi into the air before bringing her back down to her chest level, then putting her back in the air. The baby giggled with delight.

"No, you don't understand," replied Kairi with an agitated expression. "I was standing outside with the sun really shining one minute and then, out of no where, these clouds of darkness just cover the sky."

Merlin stepped outside to investigate for a moment. When he returned, he said, "There is something strange about those clouds... They're not your ordinary storm clouds, and there's no reason they should've just appeared."

"Sounds like every time Sora and the others used to leave, doesn't it?" asked Paine. "Every time he'd leave, those clouds would block him from coming back in."

Merlin snapped. "That is precisely what they remind me of!"

"Then, aren't we under attack?" inquired Rikku as Naomi pulled at one of her long braids.

Everyone stared at one another for just a moment before different expletives were exclaimed and weapons appeared.

**XxxxxX**

After Naminé, Nalani and Sora assisted Hercules in exterminating the Heartless he did, as promised, take them to see Zeus. In order to reach him, they had to journey to the Temple of Zeus, which meant taking a boat from the Coliseum to Olympia, a Greek city. **(A/n: Because I'm just assuming the Coliseum is in its own, special area.) **They wandered through the city, with Sora receiving extremely confused stares from passersby. Eventually, Hercules brought to a relatively empty part of the town where a large temple sat.

As they made the long walk to the entrance of the Temple of Zeus, Hercules remarked, "I'm not promising you that he can help you, just so you know."

"We'll try not to be too disappointed if he can't," reassured Nalani as she gazed at the sky. Despite its darkness, like it was just about to rain, the sun was still shining, at least a little. If anyone was responsible, then it was Zeus and the other gods.

Once inside, they immediately felt chilly. The temple was dark, but Hercules walked through it like an expert and, as he reached an extremely large statue of a man, Zeus, atop a throne, the torches ignited themselves. The statue also came to life and clapped Hercules on the shoulder. Had Hercules been a normal man, the blow would have knocked him to the ground and likely broken his back. Then again, the statue of Zeus likely would not come to life for a normal man.

"Ah, son! How nice to see you. How are the wife and kids?" demanded Zeus with a hearty grin.

"Great, Dad. How's everything up there?"

At this, Zeus' expression became nervous. "Well, Hera's angry with me again... Seething, actually. But we don't really have to go into that. Who are your friends, m'boy?"

"This is Sora, the Keyblade Master and two other keyblade wielders, Nalani and Naminé. They've been helping me out for a while, along with their other friends," remarked Hercules.

Zeus nodded. "Ah, yes, yes. I have seen them help the Coliseum many times. What brings you all here?" He asked, gazing with interest at the three tiny humans. Naminé and Nalani were practically hiding behind Sora, who also looked like he quite wanted to hide. There was something about a forty-foot, now-talking statue that struck fear in the hearts of everyone other than Hercules.

Hercules glanced back at Sora and waved him forward. "They have important matters to speak with you about, Dad. Particularly about our world."

"Our world, hm?"

"They're the keepers of peace in the universe. Keyblade wielders keep Heartless, Nobodies, and every other monsters from destroying different worlds," informed Hercules.

"Yeah," began Sora lamely as he took a few steps forward. "You see, two of our enemies have somehow been able to gain control over all the worlds and bring them together so that they can get complete control of the universe. So, we were wondering about how this world is doing..."

The giant Zeus nodded. "Ah, yes, we have had many problems with these Heartless, particularly on Mount Olympus. However, the level has not been too much there or anywhere else here that we cannot handle."

"So you haven't really been touched by the spell?" asked Naminé timidly.

Zeus shook his head. "No. Thanks to the work of all the gods. Well, most, excluding Hades and a couple of others."

Sora nodded. "Thank you for your time, Zeus."

"Yes, yes, come back any time. Especially you, you can come back anytime," he added to Naminé with a wink. Nalani fought back a laugh as Naminé's cheeks turned red and she started out of the temple.

Once they were outside, Sora and Nalani burst out laughing. They laughed so hard that they doubled-over. "Zeus wants to have more illegitimate children, Naminé and with you! What an honor!"

Hercules came running out of the temple a few moments after them. "Sorry, Naminé. My father has... loyalty issues. Anyway, did you get the answer you were hoping for?"

"Sort of, but not really," answered Sora as he wiped tears from the laughter out of his eyes.

"Yeah, now we know that if we have a whole legion of gods on each world, then the world won't fall to Xemnas and Saïx. That's useful," groaned Nalani. "I don't know what I was hoping for though the ending of the meeting did make me feel a little better."

Hercules gave them all appraising looks. "So, what are you three going to do now?"

"Not sure. Go back and hammer out a new plan, I guess," remarked Naminé. In a mumble that only Sora and Nalani could hear, she added, "and make plans never to come back to this temple again."

**XxxxxX**

Camilla journeyed to the library, finding it behind a door on the first floor on the west side of the house. A large coffee table sitting in the center of the room was covered by papers. She quickly ran to the table and began to sift through the papers. Her heart beat a little faster as she recalled Christian mentioning to her that Xemnas and Saïx had been doing 'research' particularly about Cane. All of their notes on Cane had nothing particularly important; it was all just theory. A person like Cane - any complex person, really - could not be explained away by a few words. "Oh. What's this?" she murmured as she found a very official-looking document.

As she held it up, she noticed that it was a birth certificate: Christian's. "Mother... Tiesa?" She nearly choked. "Father..." The name was blotted out with ink. "Fuck, really?" She groaned and allowed the paper to slip to the floor. Finding nothing else there, she decided to glance at a thick, leather bound book that Saïx had been reading. One of the pages had a piece of paper sticking out of it. She knew it was important before even pulling it out. 'Supreme Control' was its title. Camilla skimmed the paper. When she was done, she was beside herself and her heart was beating so quickly that she was sure it would burst out of her chest.

"So, they used Aunt Stefa's heart. They offered it to Kingdom Hearts and, in return, they gained power. The power that reverses the Old Light of Kingdom Hearts; it forced the worlds to rejoin like they once had been. And, because they had the heart with the Ancient Darkness, they were granted supreme power over the worlds... But, fuck, how could there not be a way to reverse it?"

Pursing her lips, Camilla flipped through the book, looking for a paper that said how to reverse it. Then again, she could not be sure why they would have notes on something that would reverse their supreme power... "Isn't it obvious to you? I thought your parents were _smart_," remarked a woman. Camilla jumped, immediately expecting to become caught. However, when she looked around, she didn't see anyone. Only, she did. Something was hovering in one corner of the library. It was the form of a woman with long red hair tied in a braid with a velvet-red ribbon at the bottom. She wore a quarter-sleeved, yellow off-the-shoulder shirt with orange trim on the collar and sleeves with an orange skirt.

"This isn't possible," gasped Camilla as she stared at the spectral image of Tiesa.

"Close your mouth; you look stupid." Camilla easily obeyed by frowning. "Now, I have no clue how much time you have, but... You need to restore your aunt."

Camilla raised an eyebrow. "Wow, really? Everyone's only been contemplating that for over a year..."

"Well, luckily for you, I know how to do it. I was... close with Cane, obviously." Not knowing where this was going, or if she was hallucinating, Camilla listened to the 'ghost' patiently. "So I know that this is something he knew. He once told me about it, but admitted that he wanted no part of this world. That's why he was working on the Deserted Fairground in the darkness; he couldn't stand the light. But, it had been a dream of Xemnas' since he and Cane met... or, re-met.

"Stefa's heart is volatile. She was inflicted with the ancient darkness that came about as a result of people killing one another for Kingdom Heart's light because the darkness could not be destroyed, but had to be hidden. But, due to her heart's already unique, perfectly split nature, the darkness could not corrupt her. Since the darkness was still powerful, though, it tapped into her conscious at times. Sometimes it was able to take over completely when she became completely weakened."

"Are you going to make a point soon?" asked Camilla impatiently.

Tiesa's glare would have been more frightening in life, but still did its job as a ghost. Camilla became quiet again. "Anyway, because it had that ancient darkness, and because it's so volatile, it can be used to manipulate Kingdom Hearts. With another's heart, it's even stronger... but that's not the point. The point is, Cane knew about her heart and its special darkness."

"Why didn't he ever try to use it to his advantage?" asked Camilla.

Tiesa shrugged. "I guess he didn't care."

"So, you're telling me that I need to revive the greatest villain known to keyblade wielders and mankind in order to save my aunt and save the universe? If we revive Cane, he could still wipe out the universe."

"You all killed him once. What's once more? Isn't it worth it?"

Camilla pursed her lips. "Well, yeah, of course. But, at the same time, it's not."

"Sacrifice, Camilla," remarked Tiesa. "If you want to fix this, you need to revive Cane. You have something in common with my son."

"Why would he want to revive Cane?"

"_He _doesn't; he's just been manipulated to think he does. Your aunt wasn't the only one who's been manipulated by that ancient darkness."

Camilla thought about what Tiesa was saying... and what she was not. "So, are you saying that the same ancient darkness that was part of my aunt's heart is now in Christian's?" Tiesa nodded. "Now, what were you saying about you and Cane? And... are you really Christian's mother?" She decided that she would feel weird about playing twenty questions with a ghost much, much later.

"Well, uh..." Camilla knew it was not in Tiesa's nature to stumble over her words or seem embarrass, but she was currently doing both. "It was lonely after all of that stuff with us being revived and sent to Olympus Coliseum and shit. There was a very long grace period. And, during that time, I got to know Cane... But, the truth is, there really isn't anything to him. I slept with him and Destine slept with him. There were no emotions from him. Des used him to fill the void in her heart after seeing Nalani and Arach together; I used him to further widen the void in my heart.

"After sleeping with him a few times, I became pregnant. But I didn't want a kid, especially not Cane's. But Destine was excited; she really wanted a child, no matter what the gender or who the father was. So, when Christian was born, she took him back to Maggie, who had been revived for that reason. She raised Christian like her own and Destine allowed herself short visits with him as he grew. I guess that Destine always expected to leave Cane, to have a life after time, which is why she was so eager about Christian. But when he went after you kids, starting another war with the other keyblade wielders, there was no time for that. And we got so wound up in it all that we forgot about Christian.

"I'm not proud of it, but Maggie made a better mother than I ever would have, and was still a better mother than Destine could have managed. She would have been bitter, I'm sure, forgetting Christian wasn't even hers and be bitter about raising him on her own. So, in the end, it was for the best, what happened. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't have slept with Cane in order to make myself an even angrier person. Or, at least, when I was pregnant, I would have left and raised Christian the way he was meant to be raised. But Maggie didn't do badly. I guess we all just should have tried some honesty."

Camilla stared at Tiesa. "So, not only is Christian your son but he's... He's Cane's son? That means he's Ryley's half-brother."

"It also means that, coupled with the darkness that is currently manipulating him, you're losing him. He's... Not well," were the words Tiesa settled for as Camilla grasped her necklace with a vice grip.

The door to the library flew open abruptly, and Camilla's heart skipped a beat, noticing Tiesa's form flicker out of existence through her peripheral vision. There was no place for her to hide, so, as Xemnas stepped into her view, Camilla settled for summoning Dissolve and Decay.

"Ah," began Xemnas without surprise as he spotted her in plain view. "Caught you now."


	18. Fall into Me

**Chapter Eighteen:**  
Fall into Me

**A/n: I'm quite amazed, to be honest. We're pretty much there, at the end of the story! Wow. That happened kind of quickly (if you don't count the months I took off... xD') This is pretty exciting. Every chapter up to the ending is guaranteed to have good stuff, I promise. I like the song whose lyrics I've posted for this chapter, so I highly suggest listening. Enjoy!**

_'Bring your secrets to me._

_Just give me your hands and I'll let you feel the wounds they put in me._

_If you believe in me, how can I be dissolving?_

_If you believe me, I'll tell you everything.' _

**-"37mm" by AFI**

**

* * *

**

Tifa hung up the phone and rejoined the mob in Merlin's room. "I just got a call from a concerned citizen," she reported. She hated how cliched that sounded, but ever since the Restoration Committee had given out their - or, at least, Merlin's - number to the public for them to serve as the police, that was how they referred to their calls. "Someone spotted a few suspicious-looking figures in the Postern. One's a teenager, a brunet boy, and the other is a hooded man."

"Alright, that sounds like a good lead," remarked Riku as he stood up from his spot on the couch. "I'll go check it out. Who else wants to come?" Arach offered immediately, as did Kairi, Sage, and Rikku.

"The rest of us should try to find the source of the barrier, we'll split up," suggested Quince.

Elie practically sprang up from her spot on the love-seat. "We don't need anyone to stay here, right? Merlin can handle it, right? Because, really, the woman who can call a dragon shouldn't be left behind."

"Calm down, Elie. No one's making you stay behind this time," assured Cloud.

She nodded her head eagerly. "Then, we should leave before someone changes their mind." She grabbed Quince's wrist and they set out of the house.

Before Riku could leave with Arach and the others, Yuna, who was holding Naomi, called, "Wait! Who's going to watch Naomi?"

Arach slid to a stop as he turned back toward Merlin's house. "Isn't the answer obvious?" Yuna winced, half-expecting him to say, 'She can watch herself!' or 'Merlin!' "Aerith."

"Oh," replied Yuna, surprised at the normalcy of the answer. "Okay." She turned, found the blonde sitting on the couch, and handed over Naomi before she and Paine left the house.

**XxX**

When they reached the Postern, only one person was standing there. "Where's your friend?" called Arach as they approached the cloaked man.

"Oh, I already sent him ahead. He has important things to do," answered Farkas, turning to face them and dropping his hood in the process.

"Farkas," began Riku, "I wish I could say I was surprised to see you."

Farkas waved him off. "Cut the dramatics."

"Where's Camilla?" demanded Arach as Arachnid Nightmare flashed into his hand.

Farkas chuckled. "I thought you'd never ask. She was very hesitant in returning here, so I let her stay behind. By now, she's already been put in the dungeon for her curiosity."

"Curiosity?" questioned Rikku, but Kairi nodded her understanding.

"Of course. Camilla may have wanted to go with Christian to be with him but, at the same time, it may have also been because she knew that she could get important information from there," she remarked. "I knew she had her mother's brains!" Arach shouted something incoherent.

Rikku skipped over to Farkas with a pleasant smile. "So, where's this place at?"

Farkas bared his teeth in a grin. "If you were still in your twenties, that might work. Or, maybe, if I actually cared for human emotions. But that time's over for both of us now, isn't it? If you want to find where Saïx and Xemnas are, you'll have to figure it out on your own."

"Or we could just beat it out of you," suggested Sage. "I like that idea better."

Riku turned to Rikku **(A/n: Ohlol)**. "Rikku, see if you can track down the kid."

She pouted, sticking out her lower lip, as she swayed from side to side with her knives in hand. "But, I wanna beat the snot out of Farkas!"

"But only you are ninja-like and super-fast enough to catch up with Christian," remarked Kairi with a smile. This convinced Rikku to sprint out of the Postern as fast as she could.

**XxxxxX**

Ryley and Kiera appeared in the middle of a large beach at sunset. "This is a nice place. Is this really in the Dark Realm?" asked Ryley as he looked around. Only a few were left on the beach while others sat at the Cabana, ordering drinks.

"Not sure. Doesn't really matter, though. Maybe Xemnas and Saïx purposely sought out this place to confuse us. We should probably ask around. If they are here, then they'll have been spotted at least once. Let's split up and meet..." Kiera trailed off as she glanced around. Her eyes settled on a small fountain separating the beach and the cabana. "Right there. Okay?" He nodded and moved off to the right while she headed for the cabana.

Kiera stood at the counter, looking like a patient customer. The bartender noticed her immediately and approached her with a grin. "Hello, miss. Can I get you something? First one's on the house."

"Uh... I'm not twenty-one," she mumbled.

"Doesn't matter," replied the bartender. "Here, I'll bring you something I think you'll like."

"Ah, how refreshing you are, young lady. Honesty in the younger generation is always nice to see," remarked an older, brunette woman. She was sipping out of a glass with a clear liquid that had chunks of lime, some sort of herb, and ice in it. As she sipped, she readjusted her large, orange floppy hat. "You look confused, though. Something you can be helped with, dear?"

Kiera nodded as she turned away from the counter and leaned against it. "Have you ever... seen anyone suspicious around here before?"

"Well," the woman's tone to that of gossip, "I've never _seen _anything, but I have heard many stories from the locals about young girls disappearing. Then, a few days after the fact, their mauled bodies are found in alleyways or dumped in less populated areas."

_'Sounds like Farkas,' _thought Kiera. "Okay, that's great but have you ever... seen anyone?" The woman shook her head. Kiera sighed. "Well, thanks for your help."

The bartender returned with her drink, a small glass with a thick, white liquid in it with a cherry and slice of pineapple in it. Kiera grabbed it as she moved over to the next stool. "Hi, could you help me? I'm looking for some people. There all men. One has short silver hair with amber eyes, the other also has amber eyes and long blue hair, and the third also has amber eyes and long silver hair."

"No, sorry," apologized the man.

Kiera inwardly groaned as she looked away from the beach and admired the geography north. There, standing above all of the other buildings was a large mansion, and she immediately became interested. "Hey, does anyone know who lives in that mansion up there?"

"Not really. The buyers aren't very social, obviously. Though, I think I noticed a girl lingering around there earlier... I'm not sure if she lives there."

"A girl? What did she look like?"

"She had medium-length brown hair and was wearing a pink tee with shorts and leggings."

Kiera nodded her head vigorously, downing a few lengthy sips of the white liquid. "Mm, not bad." She downed the whole thing. "Thanks!" she added to the bartender before returning to the fountain, where Ryley already stood.

"How'd it go?" he asked when he noticed her eager face. "I couldn't get anyone to even talk to me..."

Kiera grinned. "That's because you're not wearing short jean shorts and a cute white tanktop," she replied. "Anyway, you see that mansion all the way up there?" Ryley followed her index finger and nodded. "Well, some guy saw a girl out there earlier. A girl that fits Camilla's description." He could tell that she was coming close to jumping up and down.

"Why are we standing around this crummy place?" demanded Ryley. "Let's go!"

"This place isn't _crummy_," argued Kiera. "It's beautiful. I'd love to get married here, or come for a honeymoon."

"Well, I'll keep that in mind once we eradicate the big bad wolf and his friends," replied Ryley as he grabbed Kiera's wrist. "Let's go." They ran past the cabana, earning stares from nearby loungers, and headed through the town. "How much of whatever that bartender gave you did you drink?"

Kiera shrugged. "Dunno. All of it? It was good. Like milk. And sweet things. Good stuff."

"Are you going to be able to concentrate and be quiet in the house of our enemies?" asked Ryley skeptically.

"Sure," answered Kiera. "There couldn't have been a lot of alcohol in there; I barely tasted a thing!"

Ryley shook his head, murmuring, "Oh, lordy," under his breath. Still, he had to smile to himself. While things with Kiera had been edgy at best the past year with their constant ups and downs, this moment was one of the few where he felt like things were returning to normal. Then, he remembered that they were still first cousins and everything was ruined again. s

Meanwhile, Kiera was playing with her seafoam compact. She used the touch screen to contact the others, except Aerith, at once. As the keyboard slid out of the side, she typed up a quick message about them having almost definitely discovered the world where Xemnas was hiding. She slid the compact into her pocket as they reached the end of the town and started up a long, empty path that was slowly becoming darker as the sun disappeared. No Heartless or Nobodies bothered them, even once they reached the front gate; it was eerie. The gate was locked, but Ryley quickly dealt with it by using Harmonic Destruction to unlock it.

"That was really easy," noted Kiera as she summoned Essence of the Heart.

"Too easy. Let's be on our guard."

"You know it," she replied with a wink.

**XxxxxX**

Although they had to push through mobs of Power Wilds and other Heartless, Laine and Anali were successful in retrieving the Gummi ship and grabbing Roxas and Axel. They sped off into space, at which point Anali decided to ask the question that was on her mind as well as on Laine's. "So, you said that Maggie was killed. What happened to her body?" she casually asked as Roxas steered out of the way of a meteor and she zapped at a nearby Nobody ship. The answer to the question was really quite obvious, but Anali felt the need for her obvious suspicions to be confirmed.

"I barely got Axel and myself out," began Roxas in a defensive manner. "I couldn't grab Maggie, too. There was no way we could have made it out if I had. She was already dead; I couldn't do anything for her."

Laine shook her head. "You couldn't," she agreed. "We're not judging you, Roxas. What you did was smart and makes sense."

Roxas relaxed his posture, which had been tense and stiff. "Well... thanks. Wait, what's going on here?" he demanded as he stopped the ship. The ship was hovering outside of the Radiant Garden, that much was for sure, but thick, large clouds were obscuring the whole world. They were not the only ones waiting; another ship Roxas recognized to be Sora's (which had previously been named "Sex" but was now called "Consent of the King") was also hovering. He pressed a button and a small screen appeared before him, then he pressed Consent's button and Sora's face appeared.

"Roxas! We were starting to worry about the three of you. How's Deep Jungle?" asked the Keyblade Master.

"Terrible," answered the blond honestly. "First, for the first two days we found nothing. Then, all of a sudden we discovered a bunch of Heartless... and met Christian."

"Christian?" shouted Nalani. "Tell me you strangled him."

Roxas shook his head. "Well... it was weird. He collapsed, and I remember running into a mirror... Point is, I don't remember much. For some odd reason, I remember seeing Stefa's necklace before I lost consciousness, but I don't know why. When I woke up, Axel was unconscious and Maggie was... She was dead."

"What?" asked Sora sharply. "And you have no clue what happened?"

"None," came the reply. "Luckily for us, Laine and Anali happened upon the Deep Jungle and really got us out of a tight spot."

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "And how did they 'happen upon' the Deep Jungle?"

Laine appeared abashed, but Anali seemed proud. "Kiera deemed that the adults wouldn't be able to find anything, so she summoned a portal -" Sora and Nalani, especially Nalani, cursed "-and sent us all on our merry way. Come on! You can't be mad. She just wanted to find her best friend. She wanted to be able to _try_. Not to be told to sit back and be a good girl because her plans sort of backfired last year."

"This sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Naminé calmly asked Nalani. "Remember when Stefa disappeared with Arach and, in Twilight Town, Quince was willing to turn back to the darkness to find her?"

Nalani smiled fondly. "Yeah, I do..." She trailed off and shook her head. "But that was a little different. At least, by that time, Quince proved that he could at least handle the darkness-"

"He did?" responded Sora with an astonished expression. Nalani's elbow promptly met Sora's ribcage.

"Well, alright, ish. He sort of did. He had more experience with it, that's for sure. At least he had an idea of what he was searching for-" Sora made another remark, and he was once again hit. "The point is, I'm worried that Kiera doing this could seriously damage her, but I'm glad that she's doing everything she can to find Camilla. I'm biased, sue me."

Laine waved her hand. "We're getting a little off topic," she noted. "What happened to the Radiant Garden?"

"I'm sure it's some nice trick of the Terrible Threesome," answered Sora through gritted teeth. "But I don't know if we can actually do anything to get in there, so... Let's meet up at Destiny Islands?" Roxas agreed and the screen clicked off.

**XxxxxX**

"It looks the same, doesn't it?" remarked Cashel as he played with his lip piercing and gazed around. The air was chilly, and a slight breeze blew through the street, so he pulled up the hood of his plum-colored hoodie so only his sandy bangs were exposed to the elements.

Kaspar sent Cashel a glance that made it clear he was concerned about the younger boy's sanity. "Uhh, no. It's a hell of a lot darker, and that's not because it's winter. Not to mention you could never see that mountain so well before." He pointed to the distance, where a large mountain stood proud above the skyline.

Caleb raised his eyebrows. "But... Jewel's Grove doesn't have mountains."

"But other worlds do," replied Kaspar. "Man, this is getting bad."

They were standing in the center of a currently empty street. Large snowbanks rose on either side of the road, covering some mailboxes. "It's Christmas time," noted Cashel with a gesture to a nearby house with its Christmas lights ablaze.

"Actually, I think it's past," noted Caleb as he spotted an anonymous note on the person's mailbox which read, 'It's the end of January, friend. If you're not going to take down the lights, at least turn them off.' "Wow. So we've missed a month. It doesn't feel that long."

Kaspar was frowning. "We missed _Christmas_."

"So," began Cashel, ignoring Kaspar, "what do we do now that we're here? Jewel's Grove is pretty close to joining another world, which is no good. But what can we do?"

Caleb shook his head as he glanced up at the dark sky. "Hasn't that been the question all along?" He held out his hand as it began to snow.

**XxxxxX**

"I haven't seen Destiny Islands look this crappy since..." Deirdre trailed off as she attempted to think of a time. "Ever." She and Kamon were standing atop the ship that jutted out from the Children's Island. **(A/n: So, originally, they were going to Twilight Town but I changed my mind. :D) **

Kamon laughed. "I think that's the closest to a joke I've heard out of you in over a year," he remarked.

Deirdre smiled as she leaned over the railing and stared at the rest of the island. Her smile seemed out of place. Destiny Islands' sky was a sickly purple-black color, as if it were preparing for a huge storm, and there were already Shadows spread across the beach. Kamon even noticed the silhouettes of other areas in the distance that he had never seen before. "I think I've learned some stuff from being around all of the other kids, especially Kiera. She's obviously upset about her mom, but there's really nothing she can do, so she doesn't let it get the best of her. On the other hand, she knows she can at least try to do something about finding her best friend, so she's doing all she can. I guess that I've been using way too much energy on being vindictive and mean since Tristan was killed. I've wasted so much time; I bet he's really pissed at me."

"Well, you're doing something productive now. And you can do something about Tristan."

A grin, less sweet and more menacing, spread across Deirdre's face. "Oh, yes. I can destroy Farkas. And I will. I swear I will. I just..." Her smile disappeared. "Feel bad. I know I could have done something, but I didn't. I miss him so much; it's like losing my other half."

"Gina wasn't my twin **(A/n: lol I wrote 'sister' originally... love typos)**, in fact, she was annoying. She always bothered me, always wanted to be around me. It was so annoying. But I guess I grew accustomed to it. Once she was... gone and we went back home, I felt lonely. It was weird not being bothered into talking about my day, or being eavesdropped on as I talked to my girlfriend. So I can't say I know how you feel, but I have a good idea."

Deirdre pushed her hair out of her face. "I love how we're having this really deep, serious talk as the Heartless are destroying the island below us. Thanks, though, Kamon. Talking has actually been nice." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Now, let's take care of those Heartless!" And, for the first time in over a year, Our Lady of Sorrows appeared in Deirdre's hand instead of Love Lost.

**XxxxxX**

"Ry, I want you to cover me. Just in case someone is actually here, I'll feel better that you'll have my back," remarked Kiera as they lingered in the extraordinary foyer. He nodded as they glanced around without moving from where they stood. A magnificent, golden Chandelier hung many feet over their heads; a table sat just a few feet before them with a bouquet of irises sitting atop it; a hallway off to the right broke off from the Foyer and created a dining room, which had another door in it; there was also a door off to the left that could have led just about anywhere; the carpet was a light, creme color with a long, red velvet carpet that rolled from the entrance all the way up the staircase that sat in the center of the room. The staircase separated the first floor into two hallways, which each had its fair share of doors, including one door on the side of the staircase. There was also a whole second floor overlooking them, complete with brown wooden railing. Had they been facing Xigbar, the situation would have been ten times more dangerous as he could have sniped them from the second level. However, Xemnas and Saïx still could do some damage from above.

"Big place," noted Ryley, if not a little nervously. "I don't even know where to start."

Kiera put her index finger to her chin. "Well, if Camilla's being held captive, it probably wouldn't be in one of the thousands of bedrooms that are probably are here. But, I'm betting they have a basement."

"You think they locked her in the basement the same way Arach did with Cashel?" asked Ryley before nodding. "That does seem to make sense... But since when do Xemnas, Saïx, or Farkas make sense?"

"Well, for our sake, hopefully now," replied Kiera as she approached the door on the side of the staircase. Once they passed the bouquet of irises, several Dusks appeared.

"This is actually no surprise," noted Ryley as he knocked a Dusk into the table. The bouquet trembled, like it was about to fall, then regained its center of gravity.

Kiera turned toward Ryley after they quickly dispatched the rest of the Nobodies. "Okay, even if we have to fight, we have to try to be quiet. So, no knocking the enemy into a table - unless its Xemnas, Saïx, or Farkas," she added.

They reached the door with no further problems, until they tried to open it. It barely jiggled and was obviously locked. Ryley attempted to unlock it with Harmonic Destruction and Kiera did the same with Essence of the Heart, but neither had any luck. "Fuck. We're actually going to need an actual key. This sucks," groaned Ryley.

"Split up and meet me back at the door. Call if you find anything." As Kiera began to walk off, Ryley grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "What?"

Ryley stared at her with incredulity. "Split up? That's like saying, 'Oh, hey, let's split up in The Castle that Never Was. Yeah, there are about eleven powerful Nobodies in here, but we should be alright if we believe.'" He even did an odd sort of hand gesture, like spirit fingers meets the clouds parting.

"Okay. But it could take us a lot longer if we insist on watching each other."

"It would be safer," remarked Ryley. "And once we split up, something bad will happen to the other." He turned back to the door. "I guess we could always try knocking down the door..."

Kiera rolled her eyes. "That sounds safe. It should send everyone running to investigate."

"Come on, let's give it a try," replied Ryley, his eyes serious. "Trust me."

She couldn't resist, couldn't look away. Kiera nodded. "Okay."

**XxxxxX**

Aerith was gently rocking Naomi back in forth in her arms as she paced around one of the many bedrooms in Merlin's house. The baby was fussy, particularly since she had been without real contact with her parents ever since they had returned to the Radiant Garden. "Shh, Naomi, shh. It'll all be over soon, then you can be with your Mommy and Daddy again. Though, it may be in your best interest to just be with your Mommy..." she trailed off, laughing quietly to herself. As she passed the open doorway, she heard something creak and noticed the door across the hall was slowly creeping open.

Thinking that Merlin was currently pillaging Elixirs out of someone's room, Aerith moved across the hall, baby still in hand, and pushed the door open. "Merlin, what did Dad and Leon talk to you about? You were doing so well with your rehabilitation, too... Now, it's the Sparkling we're worried about," she added in an undertone. The person was, indeed, looking through someone else's things, but it was not Merlin. It was a teenage boy that Aerith did not recognize, though she could have sworn that he could be Ryley's fraternal twin.

"Can I help you?" demanded Aerith as she slid the painfully heavy Apocalypse out of its scabbard on her back. She knew that the sword was just for show - no way could she wield it while holding Naomi - but she hoped that the boy didn't. Christian turned toward Aerith, his eyes wide. "Stand up slowly and keep your hands where I can see them." Christian nodded, easily complying. He slowly raised his hands into the surrendering position, and his eyes settled on Naomi, who he recognized from her family's short time in Lomura Kai. "Okay. What's your name?"

"Christian," he replied, feeling slightly delighted when her face showed recognition of his name.

"What are you doing in this house?"

Christian grinned. "Just looking around, I swear."

"For...?"

"Something. Kiera's room, actually."

Aerith smiled. "Funny thing for a stranger to be looking for. Are you going to leave a confession of what you did with her best friend in the room somewhere?"

"Not exactly," replied Christian, still smiling smoothly. _'Ignore her, ignore her!' _commanded Ciara. _'This _is _the room. Take her out if you have to, but find the stuff!' _Conquer-Control abruptly flashed into his hand, and he shot a beam of light at Aerith that knocked her to the ground. Aerith positioned Naomi so that when she fell, the baby did not hit the floor. He searched through the desk and under the bed, spreading dust, but he did not come upon anything. "It's not here," concluded Christian with awe. "What a waste."

_'It's on the girl, then. Find her!' _exclaimed Ciara.

Christian winced. "You don't have to be such a bitch about it," he mumbled before stepping into the hall, where Aerith lay. As she noticed his approach, Aerith pushed the baby off of her stomach. "I'm not going to touch her," he informed Aerith as he pushed Naomi further up the hall and out of harm's way. "She's Camilla's little sister, and Camilla adores her. I won't touch her." Aerith grunted as he grabbed the front of her black tank top and yanked her upwards. "But I have no problem hurting you if you don't help me. Tell me where to find Kiera."

A wry smile touched Aerith's face. "Funny thing... She left before you got here. Sucks to be you, huh?"

"Where would she go?" demanded Christian as he shook Aerith a little. He noticed her hand reach for the Apocalypse, which was currently pinning one leg to the ground. "Where?"

Aerith grimaced. "Home," she lied. "That's also Camilla's home. Maybe Destiny Islands."

Christian was skeptical. "Why would she go there?"

"To make sure her world is still in tact," replied Aerith easily. He dropped her to the ground, and she felt the full weight of her sword on her leg. Instead of walking off, or summoning a portal, Christian simply stood over her.

"You're such a liar. That's Camilla's best friend; if she were going anywhere, it would be to find Camilla." He pointed Conquer-Control at Aerith's throat.

"You know," began Aerith uneasily. "I never expected to have Cane's keyblade pointed at my throat. Could you tell me why you have it?"

Christian's eyebrows knitted together and his guard dropped as he slightly lowered the keyblade. "Cane's...?"

Aerith nodded, pleased to discover that her idea was working. "Yeah, you know, Cane. You look a lot like a friend of mine, Ryley. That's pretty funny since Ryley is Cane's son."

The keyblade dropped further. "Are you trying to suggest that my father was that insane keyblade wielder?"

"You look a _lot _like Ryley," repeated Aerith. Before either of them could do or say anything more, a red blur sailed through the air, striking Christian's arm. He cried out and the keyblade disappeared as Rikku's knife struck the floor about a foot away from Christian. Christian examined the arm and noticed a large amount of blood escaping from beneath the skin.

Rikku was practically jumping for joy. "You, kid! Get away from her, now!" she ordered, holding the other knife in a threatening manner.

Christian looked from Aerith to Rikku before summoning a portal and disappearing.

**XxX**

"Can you believe her?" demanded Christian as he walked through the corridors of darkness. "Insinuating that Cane is my father. No way."

Ciara's astral form drifted beside him as they walked. She stopped. "There are some things I think I should be honest with you about, so you know why you're doing what you're doing. First of all, my name isn't Ciara; it's actually Keira. It doesn't really matter, not for much longer it shouldn't, at least. Now, as for your parents... You see, you don't look like Destine. Not even a little. Your hair is a reddish brown."

"Meaning...?" he asked.

"Meaning Destine's close friend, Tiesa, was actually your mother."

Christian shook his head. "That's crazy. I saw her. She gave me cards for my birthdays. How could she not be my mother?"

Keira waved him off. "She was playing house; fulfilling a fantasy. As for your father, that girl was right. The reason why you're able to use that keyblade is because Cane is your father. I know those are hard truths, but they're actually good! It means that you're naturally powerful and clever. Don't worry about it, 'kay?"

But Christian was worrying about it. He was seething so hard that his body was actually shaking. A smile twitched at the corners of Keira's mouth as she witnessed in Christian's eyes something she had witnessed once before: a boy's descent into madness. "Christian? Are you okay to go on?" she asked, playing her part.

His eyes, which appeared more red than they had before, narrowed. "Of course. I understand now why we're trying to find that voodoo stuff. If there's anyone that can fix anything, it would be my father."

"Good boy," smiled Keira. "They're at the Mansion... But we need one more part, too."

"I know," he replied. "We'll go for that one last. We'll lure him in, and it will be so easy."

* * *

**A/n: So, I'm pretty sure that this is my favorite chapter so far! It makes me feel very accomplished... I had everyone (well, excluding all the adults in Radiant Garden)'s POV! Yay! :) I have good plans for Deirdre, too. I honestly mean good. Not good like, 'Oh, hey, I'm gonna kill her off.' I swear! Please review!**


	19. Bad to Worse

**Chapter Nineteen:**

Bad to Worse

**A/n: The song for this chapter = completely and totally necessary.**** Something of a Christian song, I think.**

_'Hate to twist your mind, _

_But god ain't on your side, _

_An old acquaintance severed, _

_(Burn the world your last endeavor).'_

**-"Nightmare" by Avenged Sevenfold**

**

* * *

**

The door came crashing down after Ryley knocked into it with his shoulder and Harmonic Destruction a few times as Kiera watched. She looked around; delighted that no one came running. "Nice job, Ry! Let's hurry before... someone shows up, because that would be our luck." Kiera waved at a slightly dazed Ryley to follow her as she began descending the steps into the basement. Half way down the staircase, she lost her footing and fell down the rest. She quickly sprang back up and, with a big smile and wave, said, "I'm good!" **(A/n: And that's where "Chelsea Dagger" played its part in this chapter... Dx') **

Ryley followed her, reaching to close the door behind him until he recalled that he had just demolished it. When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he asked Kiera, "Are you sure you're okay to do this?"

Kiera lightly hit his arm. "I'm okay to do anything for Camilla," she replied, though unsure of why she had hit him. "Anyway, let's go. Ooh. Big hallway and a lot of doors. Which to choose from?" she mumbled as she gazed around the surprisingly squished basement. In front of them was one hallway, which was long and had only a single door at the end, but there were many other doors in front of them.

"Clearly we take the door at the end of the hall," replied Ryley. "It's just so typical."

"But this one has a pretty red design on it," argued Kiera as she drifted over to a door all the way to the left. Something red in the shape of a hand print was on the wood.

Ryley stared at her as if he feared for her sanity. "Kiera, that's blood."

"But it's pretty," she argued. **(A/n: I'm done now!) **

He opted to ignore her as he started down the hallway. Halfway down it, a Sorcerer materialized in front of them, then a few Berserkers. "They really don't cut back on their defense system, huh?" mumbled Ryley as he blocked one of the Berserkers' claymores with his keyblade. Kiera decided to face the Sorcerer, which had already protected itself with a wall of cubes.

"I think this is the right door," chirped Kiera as she dodged a blow from the Sorcerer that allowed her to duck under its wall and slam it into a wall. The Sorcerer twitched as it slid against the wall and fell to the floor.

Ryley backed up against the other wall, quickly deciding that there was no way that the hallway was wide enough for him to be surrounded by three Berserkers. He dodged as one horizontally (and precariously) sliced with its claymore. As a result, the claymore destroyed much of the wall behind Ryley. The impact made him fall through the hole and into a different room, a training room. Two of the Berserkers followed and stood over him. "Move!" commanded Kiera; he easily obliged. First a claymore, then a thundara spell struck where Ryley had been.

A few more thundara spells ridded Ryley and Kiera of the Berserkers. "Could've been worse," concluded Ryley. "Thanks." When they returned to the door, they were unsurprised to find that it was dark. Then, Ryley noticed a claymore still lying on the ground. He gestured for Kiera to move. As he grabbed the hilt of the weapon, something came over Ryley. He felt very angry and violent. Ryley aimed all of his anger at the door and destroyed it easily. Once the weapon disappeared from his hands, Ryley felt somewhat disappointed.

The door led into an extremely dark corridor. Kiera held up Essence of the Heart and lit its tip with a fire spell. "A... dungeon in a mansion?" questioned Kiera once their immediate surroundings became illuminated. On either side of the hall they were walking in were prison cells; there was a surprising number of them. The floor was made of some sort of cobblestone, and the walls looked like they were made of brick. "This is just weird. Really, really weird."

Kiera and Ryley continued down the hall without facing much opposition other than some rats and a couple Creepers. They were about to lose hope when they reached the last cell on the right. An armored brunette girl was sitting in the center with her legs crossed and her eyes closed; it looked like she was meditating. "Cami?" called Kiera softly as she bent down. Camilla's eyes flew open immediately and a smile appeared on her face.

Camilla jumped to her feet. "Oh, wow. You guys have great timing!"

"Sure, let's go with that," replied Ryley as he looked around at the cell door. "So, is there a keyhole for this thing?"

"Yeah, but you need an actual key," groaned Camilla.

Kiera shrugged somewhat. "We haven't needed one yet." She looked expectantly at Ryley, who raised his hands.

"There's no way that I'm going to try to knock down this door with my shoulder. No way. Where's the damn key?"

Camilla gave them an answer they did not like, "Xemnas."

"No, no. You see, I want to live until my twenty-first birthday so I can legally drink at home," responded Kiera as she grabbed onto the bars."There has to be another way."

Ryley nodded. "Yeah, there is. But do you want to do it?"

"Well, I did come this far," pointed out Kiera as she blew her bangs out of her face. "What?" She stared at his face for a few more minutes. "Oh! A portal. That's so... obvious." Kiera summoned a portal, appeared in the cell, then she and Camilla reappeared outside of it. **(A/n: Oh, so many things in KH can be solved with portals!) **

"Cam, how did you get locked up?" wondered Ryley.

Camilla nodded her head eagerly. "Oh, right! Well, Farkas and Christian left for the Radiant Garden and I lost my judgement for a moment and actually believed Farkas when he said Xemnas and Saïx left. So, I went to the library and started looking through Xemnas and Saïx's notes. Man, they're good," she added. "Guys, I found out the truth about Christian. Ry..." She trailed off. "He's your brother. Half-brother, but brother nonetheless."

Ryley stared at her. "What? But... That would mean that Destine..."

"No, not Destine. Tiesa. Apparently, Tiesa slept with Cane sometime after our parents sealed Jewel's Grove the last time," stated Camilla. "Like I said, I found a lot of great notes. Then, Xemnas came in and threw me in here. But! I have even better news... Kind of." Kiera and Ryley were watching Camilla with urgency. "This is going to sound weird, but I promise I wasn't hallucinating: I saw Tiesa's ghost, that's how I found out that Cane was Christian's father. And we can get Aunt Stefa back. For a price."

Kiera shook her head, now eager to hear what her best friend had to say. "It can't be a bad price. This is my mother we're talking about."

Camilla smiled sadly. "Cane has to be revived. Only he knows how to reverse it."

**XxxxxX**

As Arach pulled himself off the railing of the Postern that stood between him and the drop about fifty feet down, he nearly fell over again as Kairi flew backwards. He caught her, steadying himself in the process, as Farkas transformed into a very large, feral wolf. "I never thought I'd see the day where I'd trust you enough to catch me," remarked Kairi with a small smile. "Thanks."

He nodded and set her down as Farkas slowly paced, his wild amber eyes settling on each of his enemies. Farkas began to snarl a little louder as a portal appeared behind him and Saïx stepped out. "We are... stopping our assault," he announced to both the wolf and the keyblade wielders.

"What? Why?" asked Riku suspiciously.

Saïx simply smiled calmly in reply. "We do not have a need for this world or its people... For the moment." Farkas, still snarling, retreated first into the portal, then followed by Saïx.

Arach slammed Arachnid Nightmare into the ground. "What the fuck? That was the quickest fight in the record of quick fights," he complained.

"That was pretty strange," agreed Sage. "What the hell just happened?"

"Let's go back," suggested Kairi with a quick glance up at the sky. While it was not as bright as it had been before the release of Stefa's heart, the sky was lighter and clear of the dark clouds.

**XxxxxX**

Something was vibrating in Kiera's shorts' pocket. She fished out the seafoam compact and opened it up to find an uncharacteristically nervous Aerith looking back. "Oh, Kiera, Ryley. Good. Wait." She did a double take. "Camilla? Holy crap. You're alright! Okay, so I just met Christian. He actually attacked me... He was looking through your room, Kiera. I'm not sure what he was looking for, but he clearly thinks that you have it and is now hunting you down."

"Hunting me down?" repeated Kiera incredulously. "But... what could I possibly have?"

"A cheery disposition?" suggested Ryley under his breath.

Aerith shook her head. "No idea, but whatever it is... He made it pretty clear that he was willing to kill me to find out where you are."

"Did you tell him?" demanded Ryley.

Aerith glared at him. "Of _course _not; I lied. But, he figured it out by himself that you would probably be looking for Camilla, so... sorry. Get out of there, quick!" Something shot out of the darkness and hit Kiera's hand, forcing her to drop the compact, which cracked as it hit the ground.

"Fuck," mumbled Kiera, shaking her hand. Ryley glanced behind them to see what had struck her and noticed the outline of a keyblade.

"Too bad your friend's so slow," commented a boy standing in the shadows. The hall abruptly became completely illuminated by a few hanging lights. Christian stepped out of a corner of the room and into their view. The trio gasped as Conquer-Control flashed into his hand. "I never was all that good with introductions."

Camilla shook her head. "Sure you were. When I met you at the bar... That was a great introduction," she interjected. "Wait. Why are you speaking in the past tense like that?"

"Because the Christian you knew is gone; he's been replaced with someone who has a much better view of life," answered Christian. Camilla squinted at his eyes and shuddered as she noticed how the irises were more brown-red than they had been earlier.

She shook her head again and took a few steps toward him. "No, he's not. He's in there somewhere. Christian... I love you and I know your heart. This isn't you."

"You're right," agreed Christian lightly. "But it's in my blood, isn't it? All of these lies... Well, I'll come out better for them; I'll come out on top."

Ryley stood in front of Camilla. "Just because it's in your blood doesn't mean you have to act on it. You could come out for the better, you know? I did."

"I guess, Ryley, that I'm just not as perfect as you," hissed Christian as he raised Conquer-Control. Harmonic Destruction flashed into Ryley's hand. "See? The difference is even shown in our keyblades! I get our father's and you... you get that pretty little thing. You, at least, got the opportunity to be your own person."

Ryley snorted. "You had it, too. How else would you have met Camilla? There's a difference between getting an opportunity and throwing it away. Guess which one you did?" Bam. Just like that, with such ease, Christian flicked his wrist and Conquer-Control sent the unsuspecting Ryley flying to the ground. Something clattered to the ground and disappeared somewhere in the darkness.

Essence of the Heart quickly reappeared as Kiera charged at Christian. Camilla moved herself so she was against the row of jail cells, unable to motivate herself to hurt Christian. Christian looked up at Kiera and waved his other hand. A cloud of darkness jutted out and knocked her clear down the hall. "This really isn't him," mumbled Camilla as she stared at Christian with horror.

"Camilla, I don't want to hurt you, you know that. Will you come with me? Help me?" Camilla stared at him for a moment, her arm hanging in front of her a little like she was going to repeat what she had done last time. She retracted her arm and summoned Dissolve and Decay. He nodded. "I understand. In that case..."

He swiped the keyblade once again, this time in an 'x' motion. Camilla moved aside and watched as a dark x appeared from the tip of the keyblade and slightly cut into the bars of the cell. She swallowed hard before turning back to him. "Christian, I'm not doing this because I want to hurt you. I'm doing it because I want to help."

"Isn't that funny? I bet that's what Maggie thought, too, when she was raising me on lies. And, guess what? She really fucking hurt me!" He rushed at her, so quickly that she barely saw him move, and knocked her flat on her back. Just as Christian brought Conquer-Control to Camilla's throat, the keyblade was knocked out of his hand by Essence of the Heart.

"You know, if you love her and don't want to hurt her, then it's really funny that you're trying to slit her throat," growled Kiera as she brandished her keyblade at his throat. "What do you have to say to that?"

A smile slowly spread across Christian's face and Kiera fought back shudders as she thought of how much he looked like Cane. "Surprise," he whispered. While she was still trying to comprehend this, a breeze blew off of Christian and Kiera became covered by millipedes.

Christian stood and turned toward Ryley but was quickly knocked off his feet by Camilla's keyblade. She stood, hands shaking, as a few vines began to creep out of the tip. "Don't make me hurt you, Christian."

He looked back at her and chuckled. "Don't make me laugh, Cami." Christian regained his footing and gazed at the millipede-covered Kiera, unconscious Ryley, and shaking Camilla. "I think we've all reached an understanding, don't you?" he mumbled as he reached out and touched her cheek. "Come with me, and everything will be fine."

"I don't believe you," mumbled Camilla.

"No, but you want to," he noted. "If you and your friends don't come with me, I can promise serious consequences for your other friends."

The dungeon door abruptly flew open. It was less of an impressive entrance than Xemnas wanted, but the door was partially chopped down, so he could only do so much. "Christian, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

The door on the opposite side of the hall flew open and Saïx stepped out. "Xemnas, do not interfere," he warned.

Xemnas stared at his colleague. "What are you planning here?"

"Me?" Saïx repeated with incredulity as he laughed bitterly. "But, what could I possibly plan? I'm nothing without you, remember? I'm just your _wing-man."_

"Saïx..."

"No, enough from you. Do you not speak enough?" snapped Saïx. "I knew your plan was bullshit from the beginning; you have no idea what to do once the worlds rejoin. Well, once I figured that out, I realized I needed some help. As it happened, there was a perfect manipulator, one much like Cane, that came to be shortly after we offered the Princess' heart to Kingdom Hearts. I realized that, at the end of the day, we needed Cane and could convince him to help us the way he once helped you and the apprentices. So, I discovered there was a way to revive him after all. It took a while, but the moment is almost upon us." Saïx glanced at Kiera, who was attempting to get the millipedes off of her. "That foolish little ship that chased you to the pirate ship was ordered by me to do so. We needed you to go there and get the voodoo witch's supplies."

Xemnas scowled. "So, all along, you've been betraying me?"

"I wouldn't have had to had I been your equal, but you're so egotistical... So foolish. You believe that you are so capable, but you are not. Cane is the one, he's always been the one. And thanks to the darkness, I was able to realize this and make it happen."

Camilla shook her head. "But Cane's not back."

"Not yet," corrected Saïx. "But, when he is, I'm sure he will be more than happy to work alongside me as Supreme Lord of the Universe." Camilla recalled what Tiesa had said about Cane not being interested. Had he been interested, he would have done it long ago. Then again, it was possible that Tiesa could have been wrong. It certainly would not have been the first time. "Christian, take them. I will deal with Xemnas?"

Xemnas chuckled. "'Deal' with me, Saïx? Now, cut the dramatics; you are no match for me."

A cruel grin spread across Saïx's face. "Xemnas, you may have been the founding member of the Organization, but you have never been by any means the strongest." Camilla did not even cry out as she felt herself being wrenched into a portal; she was too immobilized by the sight of Xemnas and Saïx clashing.

**XxxxxX**

Holly sighed as she leaned down in the patch of yellow and white lilies, which still covered the Dark Depths. "So, we found nothing. What a shocker."

"I'm glad that your cheery disposition hasn't disappeared since I last saw you," chirped Elie as she gazed around the empty cliffed area.

"What, isn't living with Riku everything you wanted and more?" asked Quince with one eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms.

Holly stood and turned toward Quince. For a moment, Elie thought the woman was going to hit him, and she was ready to cheer her own whole heartedly. Instead, Holly said, "You and Riku astonish me, you really do. It doesn't matter what you have in your life currently, you two _always _have to revert to the past, to your anger and, my personal favorite, to Stefa. It's extremely annoying. I think I may have to bash both of your skulls in."

Elie nodded. "I wish none of this had ever happened. There are a lot of great reasons for why Jewel's Grove shouldn't have been drowned in darkness - I know, I know, it was partially my fault, too - but a pretty good reason is that none of this stupid stuff would have ever started."

"Yeah," agreed Holly with a nod. "Or we could also be pissed at Stefa for being polyamorous."

"But it's not nice to speak badly of the deceased," remarked a disembodied voice. A portal abruptly appeared in the side of the cliff and Christian stepped out. Diamond Sky, Maybe Memories, and Dragon Fang materialized. He grinned his smooth smile at them as their expressions shifted to those of concern. "Not deceased, I guess. But not in existence," he amended. "So you must be... my Uncle Quince and cousin, Elie." Christian nodded before his eyes fell upon Holly. "And you, my mother's not-so-great friend, Holly."

Holly shook her head. "Not true. I liked Destine. At least, I liked her a lot in comparison to Tiesa, who constantly threw herself at my obviously gay brother."

Christian nodded. "Then, I _am _right; Tiesa was my mother."

"Ooh, plot twist," mumbled Elie. "Wait!" she cried suddenly. "If I'm your cousin and he's your uncle... That makes you..."

"Cane's son. They really _do _give anyone a keyblade..." laughed Christian. The trio exchanged a quick, communicative glance and quickly determined that this boy was most definitely the son of Cane. "It's funny. I met my half-brother and I felt... nothing. I knocked him out in one shot. Even my stupid, alleged cousin outlasted him."

"Ryley and Kiera," remarked Holly much more calmly than either Quince or Elie did. "So, they left, huh? Why does that _not _surprise me, given who their parents are... Slash who raised them," she amended. "Where ever did you find them?"

Christian smirked. "With Camilla, of course."

"Of course," agreed Holly. "And where are they now?"

Conquer-Control appeared in Christian's hand, and he began to chop the heads of the lilies off the stems. "Well, if my uncle here is such a good parent, shouldn't he be able to answer that question?"

"Of course not," exclaimed Elie. "He's a horrible father!"

"Thank you for that vote of confidence, Elie," muttered Quince. "Tell us where they are now. I don't want to hurt my own flesh and blood."

Christian was still smirking. "That didn't stop you from killing your only brother, though, did it?"

Quince waved him off. "That was so different. Cane was a psychopath," he was beginning to get nervous from the sheer amount of times his deceased brother's name was being tossed around. He had not spoken of his brother in one conversation so many times since Cane had been alive. "You may actually be able to be saved."

"Saved?" Christian laughed. It was a cold, cruel sound that was reminiscent of his father's. "I don't _want _to or need to be saved. But I'm not surprised that you morons don't understand that." His body was suddenly thrust backwards, slamming him into the cliffside, and fell to the ground. Holly wiped her hands together, having just summoned a fireball against the teenager.

"We can talk to Christian all day if we want to," remarked Holly, "but it won't do any good."

Elie nodded. "So, we're going to beat it out of him? Sounds good to me." She took a few steps in Christian's general direction but paused as he raised a hand.

"You can beat me as much as you want, but it won't result in anything. In fact, if you want to see Camilla, Kiera, and Ryley in good shape again, I'd suggest you stop," advised Christian, a vicious glint in his eye.

"He's bluffing," growled Quince. "I won't let a kid hold me back."

Christian half-shrugged and nodded. "You can believe what you want, but if you believe the wrong thing, then something bad could happen."

"How are you supposed to hurt anyone? Telepathically?" asked Holly, who was skeptical.

"Oh, so you haven't heard about Maggie? I guess not, seeing as how no one can get back here and we rendered at least two members of the group incapable of saying anything..."

Holly faltered a little. "Maggie? What happened to Maggie?"

"We killed her," replied Christian callously.

Elie stomped her foot, her annoyance clear. "Who the hell is 'we'?"

"Keira and me," answered Christian.

"Kiera?" asked Quince with an eyebrow raised.

Christian refrained from slamming his hand against his forehead. "The details don't matter. The point is Maggie is dead and Axel... Good as." He raised Conquer-Control as Dragon Fang came sailing into his face, easily deflecting it to the ground.

"Holly's right. I don't like to listen to him talk. I just don't understand how you can hate someone who's raised you for, like, sixteen years. How you can not care about her enough to kill her?" demanded Elie. Her left fist was balled into a fist and her keyblade-wielding hand was shaking. Quince hadn't seen his cousin so amped up in a very long time. "You're an unappreciative brat, that's what you are."

Holly gave Elie an appraising stare. "Wow, El, I'm really shocked." She turned toward the brunet. "Okay, Christian, I promise to stop Quince from kicking your ass if you tell us where Camilla, Kiera and Ryley are."

Christian laughed. "That's funny; I'm not telling you anything. All I want is Quince's blood. And you'll do it, if you know what's good for you."

"I'm really loving this whole getting threatened thing," admonished portal was still sitting behind Christian. When he realized that none of them were about to take him to heart, he reached into the portal and wrenched out a person: Camilla. "...And the threats turn real." She turned toward Quince. "Give him your blood."

Quince stared at her, point blank. "Excuse me?"

"You're not that hard of hearing yet," snapped Elie. "Do it." Camilla looked from Elie, to Quince, to Holly. She knew that Christian would not actually hurt her, but she did not appreciate being used as bait.

"Don't do it; he's not going to do anything to me. He's lying!"

Christian brought his lips to her ear. "Christian wouldn't dream of hurting you. Me, on the other hand... I'm not the same."

Quince turned over his left arm so his wrist was facing upwards. He brought the tip of Maybe Memories to his wrist and raked it into his skin. Blood began to bead out of the wound. "There, happy? You can have this," he pointed to the blood, "if you let go of Camilla. Let her go first."

Christian approached Quince and quickly put a vial to the blood. After a generous amount drained into it, Christian released Camilla and backed up to the portal. "Christian, please, don't do this," she pleaded as he turned toward the portal. "I know you're still in there somewhere."

He stopped and chuckled quietly, his eyes losing the red coloring for a moment. "Yeah. Maybe. I love you, Camilla." Christian said it in such a laidback fashion that Camilla had a hard time connecting the words with the image as she noticed Quince trying to stop the blood from flowing out of his cut. The way he said it, she felt as though they should have been back in Lomura Kai. Christian did not wait for her reaction before disappearing into the portal.

Elie and Holly flocked to Camilla immediately. Though neither were what she identified as the "mothering type", they instantly began to grab her face and look her over. "Are you okay?" demanded Holly.

"Where did he take you?" added Elie. "What happened?"

"He didn't take me anywhere. I went with him," admitted Camilla. "And Kiera and Ryley found me... Then, Christian showed up and beat us down pretty easily, but, I swear. That's _not _him. I don't give a fuck what Dad says: Christian is nice and funny and sweet. I don't know what's wrong with him, but the way he's acting isn't who he is. You believe me, don't you?"

Holly groaned. "I really would like to, but what I saw there was not a nice, sweet boy. He's almost reminiscent of my father," she added under her breath. "Anything else?"

"Well, after that, Saïx and Xemnas showed up. Saïx was pissed at Xemnas and..." Camilla trailed off. "I have a lot to tell you."

Quince nodded as he continued to hold one hand over his wound; Elie rolled her eyes and cast a quick cura spell on him. "Okay, then you should probably tell the others, too. Let's get back to the house."

**XxxxxX**

"Was this really the best place for us to meet?" demanded Anali as she peered outside of the shack's small window. "We're surrounded by Shadows, and what if Dad gets his heart stolen?"

Sora put a hand on Anali's shoulder. "You stay here with him, and we'll check things out. When the coast is clear, we'll come back. Alright?" She nodded and Sora called Laine, Naminé, Nalani, Roxas and Laine out of the small building. They barely managed to get outside before becoming swarmed by a bunch of Shadows.

"Seriously?" groaned Nalani. "Seriously. Is there no rest for the wicked? First, Naminé is flirted with by a god that can't even help us and now this. And, let's not forget that my daughter is still God only knows where-"

"-So are your sons," mumbled Laine. "And I think Merlin was going to watch Naomi..."

"Great! Maybe he can teach her how to sparkle, too!" exclaimed Nalani, who quickly took out her anger on a large group of Shadows via a graviga spell. She smiled a little too widely as the Heartless became squished and dissolved into darkness. Naminé patted Nalani's shoulder.

"Nalani, you really should probably calm down..."

Roxas rounded on her, knocking a Shadow into the ocean in the process. "Wait, what's this about a god flirting with you?"

"Oh, the apocalypse really is upon us," mumbled Anali from behind Laine. Laine glanced down at her in surprise. "What? There's no way I took that corridor of darkness just to be forced to sit and watch in a different world. Dad will be fine. He will."

Laine shook her head at her young friend. "I'm starting to think this is a bad idea, but..."

"It's like here everywhere," finished Anali. "Shit is starting to get really, really bad."

"Starting?" a female voice breathed just behind Anali, causing her to jump. "I thought this has been going on for a while?"

The adults rounded on her immediately. "Deirdre, Kamon!" exclaimed Naminé. "What are you two...? How did you...?"

"Same way we got to Deep Jungle," answered Anali with an upwards nod at the cousins. "Nice seeing you again. You even look... happier, Deirdre."

Deirdre flashed her a smile. "Thanks."

"This is really touching," remarked Nalani as she turned away from the others and took a few steps backward, "but we have a little bit of an audience here, so..." Feralgator and Our Lady of Sorrows flashed into their respective owner's hands as everyone turned to face the mob of Heartless that was once again surrounding them.

Naminé destroyed a few with Chain of Memories and even used some of her light but, in just seconds, the Shadows doubled in size to make up for what they had lost. "This isn't working," complained Kamon as he slashed at a few Shadows. He winced as one jumped at him from behind and scratched his calf, which was exposed because he was wearing shorts. "No matter what we do... They keep multiplying."

"And the world isn't looking much better," pointed out Roxas with a gesture at the water, which was steadily looking purple.

"But there's no other safe place for us, other than Radiant Garden, but we can't go there," mumbled Naminé.

The Heartless mob moved in closer to the wielders, and everyone backed up against each other. "This isn't the way I pictured dying," remarked Nalani. "At least... not recently." Shadows were even crawling out of the Secret Place, the waterfall's pond, and the ocean. From above, the island appeared mostly black.

Sora shook his head with disbelief. "This can't be how it ends."

Stefa could picture a time where her friends would never give into anything, no matter how difficult or dangerous the situation seemed. Perhaps they had been kicked around way too much. In fact, even if that wasn't the reason, that statement was definitely true. Now, she could just see the defeat on their faces, as if they could not even think of a way because it would be too painful if it didn't work out. Yet... she wasn't even sure why she was seeing them. She wasn't dead, which was further proven by the fact that she needed to zip up her jacket to protect herself from the cool air. "What's going on? I feel like I'm on the island again; I can even feel the breeze..." Stefa informed Ansem and the woman.

"Yes, it seems familiar," agreed the woman. "But I don't understand what's happening, either."

"Perhaps, because the Universe is turning to the darkness..."

"So," began Stefa, "you mean that even if the worlds were previously in different realms... They all converted to the same one because of what Kingdom Hearts granted to Xemnas and Saïx?"

Ansem shrugged. "Perhaps."

Stefa didn't like perhaps but, at the same time, she liked being able to see her friends again. Even if it was theory, she took a few steps toward the group. As she looked down, she noticed her body was translucent, but she didn't question it. She put her thumb and index finger slightly into her mouth and blew; the sound that resulted was sad, like a tea kettle that had been left whistling for too long. But, much to her pleasure, a sound _did _come out. Nalani immediately looked around for the source and squinted in Stefa's general direction. While Stefa was not a very avid lip-reader, she could make out her own name on Nalani's lips.

Nalani broke away from the group, sweeping Heartless out of her way as she moved, ignoring the calls from the others. She paused where Stefa had been, but only found a portal. "Guys, let's go. Come on!" she stood aside, waving the others in, although she cut in front of Sora, who was the last person. "...Whoa. This isn't what I expected." Instead of taking them to a location, or to a corridor of darkness, they simply were surrounded by blackness.

Stefa quickly moved to the shack, where she knew she would find Axel. She bent down over his unconscious body, which had been uncleverly placed at the bottom of the shack's stairs. "Axel," mumbled Stefa as she put a hand over his chest. "What the hell is wrong with you? What did they do to you?"

The hair on the back of her neck stood as someone whispered, '_What's wrong with him? Maybe he got tired of being married to your other half. I sure got tired of her quickly_.' Stefa turned around but saw nothing. _'Christian got a little excited with him,' _admitted the disembodied voice. It was a voice that was eerily familiar to Kiera._ 'He did something that didn't damage your friend, but will leave an impact on him in the future, no matter what. In short, he should wake up at some point. Maybe when he stops having nightmares.'_

"Nightmares, huh? Feels like my life is a giant one of those..." She trailed off as she reached up and pulled her hood over her head. Then, Stefa put her hand on the ground between herself and Axel and they both fell into darkness. Stefa was unsurprised when she saw Nalani and the others looking around the darkness with confused and concerned expressions, but they were far away and she did not engage them. Instead, she hit Axel's chest, the part opposite of his stab wound. "Axel, wake up. By not waking up, you're seriously endangering your friends and daughter by keeping them in the darkness. I gave you this heart, and I won't let you waste it, so wake up. Do it for me, for Stefa. Or, at least, do it for Reixka."

"Dad!" cried Anali, breaking away from the others as she ran over to Axel and Stefa. Sakura Bond flashed into her hand, revealing to Stefa that the girl would likely try to injure her if she deemed that Stefa was hurting her father. Hitting his chest out of impatience probably counted as the sort of abuse that Anali would attack her for. "Hey, get away from him!"

Just like that, Axel's eyelids slid back to reveal his lovely emerald eyes. He groaned and blinked, looking up at Stefa's face. "Stefa? Is that really-?"

"Dad!" Anali shouted again; Sakura Bond came dangerously close to slicing through Stefa's coat. She bent over her father, who was moving into a sitting position, as Stefa backed off with a small laugh.

"You win this round, Anali," breathed Stefa before disappearing. Nalani stopped a little past Axel and Anali and cursed under her breath. Still, she recognized the voice, despite how faint it was.

Nalani cursed again as she waved Perfect Killer. "That was bitchy!" she yelled. "Come back here!"

"Nalani?" questioned Roxas. "Are you alright?"

She blanched. "That... that person."

"Was probably Xemnas, Saïx or Farkas. Who else would trap us in the darkness like this?" As he spoke, a light began to shine, cutting through the darkness. Soon enough, it engulfed them all.

Nalani smiled. "Only a real tease."

**XxxxxX**

"I'm going to kill him," proclaimed Ryley as he paced. "As soon as he comes back, I'll strangle him." There was a deep gash on the side of his head, which was made visible by his hair, which was matted with blood. He stopped to stare at Kiera, who was sitting on a chopped tree stump and was continuously checking her arms and legs for millipedes. The insects were long gone now as Ryley had gotten rid of them, but the falling rain made her feel like there were more.

She looked up at him, her bangs and hair plastered to her face, and said, "Right now, we're stranded in the middle of a forest, so I wouldn't worry about Christian."

"Since we're stranded in the middle of a forest, I think now is the best time to worry about him," argued Ryley. "Haven't you ever seen Friday the 13th?"

Kiera shook her head and stared up at the sky. "Ry, that was at a camp and, more importantly, are you really comparing our situation to that of a movie's?"

"Thought it would loosen up the mood," he mumbled before glancing around the forest. "Do you think Camilla's around here somewhere?"

She brought her eyes back to the ground and glanced around the forest. It was as if she kept expecting something to jump out from between the trees. "Well, seeing as how Christian just sort of shoved us down the corridor and kept her with him, I'd have to say no," she replied. "Wherever Christian went is where she is." Kiera shivered. "But, right now, we have to get out of here. This rain is making me feel crappier by the second. Maybe you should try calling Aerith."

Ryley nodded as he helped her stand. "Sure, she's a tech wiz. She'll probably be able to tell us where we are before we even get out of this forest."

"Mmhm," replied Kiera as Essence of the Heart flashed into her hand. At his suspicious glance, she said, "I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Alright, you be safe and I'll be sorry." Kiera opened her mouth to make some reference but decided against it. Neoshadows began to disappear as they moved through the shrubbery. She took care of them as Ryley searched his pockets for the turquoise-checked GBA. "Fuck," he breathed. "It's not here, Kier. I must've dropped it somewhere."

Kiera dodged the claws of a Neoshadow. "Dropped it?" she repeated as she glanced back at him. "But, then..." She nodded to herself, dodging more of the Heartless. "Okay. You know what, this is stupid. I'll just use a portal."

"No," replied Ryley. "Not right now." He grabbed her wrist and the two of them began at a run through the forest.

"No? Are you stupid? Do you really want to be trapped in wherever the hell we are? Home is just one portal away," exclaimed Kiera with a great deal of impatience. As they ran, more Heartless appeared. Some were Neoshadows, but there were also Shadows and Darkballs.

Ryley took an abrupt left which was successful in shaking off a good amount of the Heartless. He pinned her against the tree and gestured to the throng of Heartless gathered where they had been. "I could ask you the same thing, Kiera. These Heartless aren't just appearing willy-nilly."

She tried not to laugh at his terminology. "Well, obviously it's because the worlds are rejoining and the darkness is spreading like a plague."

"If that were the case, there already would have been more standing around," pointed out Ryley. She opened her mouth to argue. "You know I'm right. You can't keep using the darkness, Kiera. In case you haven't noticed, the darkness in your heart isn't lightening up."

Kiera glared at him. "No, really? Is that honestly why my hair is starting to look like my mother's? Wow, Ry, you're brilliant. I guess I must need my head checked."

"Stop," sighed Ryley. "I don't want to argue. I'm just worried."

"You'd rather let us run around in a forest filled with Heartless-"

"-Your Heartless," amended Ryley.

"Whatever," she spat. "You'd rather have us run willy-nilly through the forest than let me sacrifice a tiny bit of my heart to get us somewhere safe?"

Ryley nodded. "That about sums it up."

"I hate you, Ry," groaned Kiera.

He shook his head. "Nah."

"You're right," she agreed before standing on the tips of her toes to kiss him. "How romantic. We're kissing during a rainstorm in the middle of a forest with swarms of Heartless surrounding us."

Ryley grinned. "I knew this was just the spark that we needed."

**XxxxxX**

"You're telling me that in order to stop Saïx and Xemnas from having supreme control and to get Stefa back, we have to revive Cane?" Cloud asked, mostly, Camilla after she finished telling her story to the Restoration Committee and the Wielders. Sora and the others had barged in halfway through, forcing Camilla to restart from the beginning again. When asked where they had been, Sora had explained up until the darkness. After the light had cut through the darkness, they had reappeared in their ships with Axel in full-fighting shape.

Laurence, who was sitting on the arm of the loveseat, leaned back and nearly sat on top of Holly in the process. "Stefa's great fun to watch, but I'm going to have to pass on that idea. We can handle Saïx and Xemnas. How many times have we killed them already?"

"But this isn't just Saïx and Xemnas. It's Supreme-powered Saïx and Xemnas," argued Sage. "So, that's basically regular Saïx and Xemnas on crack."

"From what Camilla's already said, it seems that we're only going to have one supreme-powered moron to deal with, so they'll have done half the work for us," pointed out Arach, who was practically squishing his oldest daughter against his side.

Camilla coughed. "Dad, you're choking me."

"Honey, I'm just trying to show you how much I feel for you every time you leave me for the dark side," he replied with a large smile. "So, I'm putting my vote with Laurence."

Kairi stood in the center of the room. "Alright, so, everyone who disagrees with Arach and Laurence who are, by the way, probably the most insane out of all of us, say 'I'!" Everyone in the room shouted, "I!"

Holly raised her hand. "Wait. So, were we actually voting or were we just voting to disagree with Arach and Laurence about just about everything?"

"This is serious," stressed Sora as he stood and began to pace. "This is _Cane _we're talking about."

Nalani also stood. "This is also _Stefa _we're talking about. I don't care if we have to pull an Odysseus to get it down. I just want it done."

Paine half-shrugged. "It's not that I didn't like her, but it seems like you've all gotten pretty well along without her. Except her children, particularly Kiera," she added when Nalani opened her mouth, "and Nalani, but aren't they just a small number in comparison to the max?"

Camilla freed herself from her father's vice grip and slid into her mother's spot. "Stop. This doesn't even need to be argued." Everyone gazed at her as if they feared for her sanity. "Either way, Christian's... going ahead with it."

Holly stared at the teenager. "You're just mentioning this now?"

"I didn't disagree with it, and there's nothing that can be done now, so I didn't bring it up," she admitted.

Tifa tapped her cheek with her index finger before asking, "How... How would Cane even get revived?"

"Voodoo magic, mom," answered Aerith, who was adjusting an icepack on her knee. "Where he'd get that, no one knows."

Sora cleared his throat and everyone's eyes became glued on him. "Well, in Port Royal, there was a voodoo priestess, Tia Dalma. But I highly doubt that any of her stuff is left."

Camilla jumped in her seat and slammed her fist on the arm of the sofa. "Wait! That's right. After Kiera and Ryley first came here, Kiera told me about meeting Barbossa and Jack Sparrow... She did mentioned that they gave her something of Tia Dalma's."

Leon shook his head. "We just don't get a break."

"Explains why he took your blood," remarked Elie, playfully elbowing Quince in the arm. "Well, good job. You just helped to revive your psychopathic brother."

Nalani shifted the weight of Naomi in her arms. "But he did it for a good cause! He got Camilla back to us." Elie had to give that one to her.

"So... Now what?" asked Naminé as she gazed around the room.

Quince stood up. "If you ask me, the answer's pretty obvious. In order to revive someone, you need their remains, don't you? Well, Cane died on that island in Jewel's Grove... We have to go to Jewel's Grove and catch the kid."

Riku raised an eyebrow at him. "And then? Do we or don't we let him revive Cane?"

"We can't all go to Jewel's Grove. That's going to be a lot of wasted space," pointed out Roxas.

"But if something happens with Cane, we'll want all of the people we can get," argued Arach.

Nalani shoved her husband a little. "Shut up, Arach. What we're going to do is have some people go to Jewel's Grove, such as myself, Quince, Elie, Reixka, Arach... You know. And the rest of you just sit here and look pretty."

"That plan sucks," complained Camilla. "I want to help."

"Oh, don't you worry, Cami. When all of this is over, you're going to help a lot at home. On Friday night and especially on the weekends. Particularly when Daddy needs you to adjust the antenna for him," proclaimed Arach.

Camilla stared at her father. "Dad, everything's digital now. You don't have an antenna."

"Anyway," interjected Sora. "Some people in Jewel's Grove is a good idea. Others should go to the world where Xemnas and Saïx are. And, at this point, I don't think it would be a bad idea to try to save whatever worlds we can from the darkness."

"Isn't it a little too late?" asked Kamon. "I mean... we could see Traverse Town without leaving the play island back at home."

Laurence sighed. "All in favor of doing Sora's dumb, non-sparkling plan, say 'I'." He was unsurprised when the room came to a consensus about, once again, following Sora's lead.


	20. Moths to the Flame

**Chapter Twenty:**

Moths to the Flame

**A/n: One more chapter after this! Nineteen-the epilogue were already finished… I'm just taking my time in updating. Building the suspense, you know? I'll probably put up the final chapter tomorrow.**

_'I'm gonna leave the same way I came,_

_Up from the ashes, then out from the ashes.'_

**-"Carpathia" by Taking Back Sunday**

**

* * *

**

"Whatever you guys do, we agree with it." Cloud was attempting to reassure the keyblade wielders, who were preparing to leave and were still unsure of their plan.

Yuffie nodded her head eagerly. Sora was still attempting to comprehend how, at her age, she had as much (if not more) energy as when she was a teenager. "Yep! 'Cause, either way, the odds suck!"

Leon ran a hand through his hair with ill-concealed contempt. "Thanks, Yuffie."

Aerith folded her arms. "Seriously? I really can't go?" Tifa hugged her daughter to her.

"I think you've done enough, if not too much, already."

Arach nodded. "I definitely agree with that."

Aerith stuck her tongue out at him as he turned his back. As the others made to leave, she cried, "Wait! Before you go, you should probably take the numbers of all the kids... You know, just in case." She took each one of their GBs/compacts and entered the numbers. "There."

"If you need help, we're just a call away," remarked Rikku with a wink.

Paine whispered to Anali, Deirdre, Camilla and Kamon, "I don't think you want her kind of help."

"Alright, pack up, kids," ordered Nalani. The four stared at her with perplexed expressions. "You're coming with."

Deirdre cheered up right away. "We get to help?"

"No, more like, you get to go to Jewel's Grove. Arach just called Kaspar and that's where he and the boys are," informed Nalani. "So you all can stay with Kath."

Aerith frowned. "Wait! They get to go?"

"And not fight," repeated Cloud. "You have more than enough Heartless to deal with here."

"But Heartless do not equal a werewolf, two ex-Organization members and a darkness-driven kid," complained Aerith, causing her parents to groan.

Yuna tapped Kairi on the shoulder and offered her a large jar of some sort of black liquid. "What _is _this?" asked Kairi as she stared at the tar-like liquid.

"It's a gel that harms Heartless. You can't use it in the middle of a battle with them, but you can smear it outside of any location that you don't want the Heartless to get into. My friend, Lulu, gave that to me," answered Yuna with a smile. "It should keep the kids safe, even with the amount of Heartless in each world. Just as long as they stay inside of the area where you put it."

Kairi grinned. "That's useful. Wow, thanks, Yuna. You're amazing."

Sora frowned. "Why don't you ever tell that to me?" Kairi answered him with a sympathetic pat on the arm.

"Alright, now we're going. We'll have two ships go to Jewel's Grove, one ship to..." Roxas trailed off. "Camilla, what's the name of the world that Xemnas and the others are in?"

Camilla thought about it for a second. "Uh, Sunset Horizons?"

The name was so perfectly ironic that Holly and Laurence immediately burst into loud laughter. "Really?" asked Holly as she wiped the tears out of her eyes. "That's nothing short of amazing. We're going there."

"Sora and I decided we can take care of it," remarked Riku. Holly walked toward him and stared at him. Perhaps she would have been more frightening had she not been some inches shorter than Riku and, as a result, could only stare either at his chest or up at his eyes. Still, she was relentless.

"Well, if there are three enemies there, shouldn't we send more than two people there? Yes," answered Holly before anyone else could reply.

Sage separated the two. "In that case, I'll go with Holly and Laurence."

"The more the merrier!" sang Laurence. Arach, Holly, Nalani and Riku hit their foreheads.

**XxxxxX**

The rain had not let up even a little; on the other hand, it began to fall even harder, making it harder for Ryley and Kiera to see where exactly they were going. "Is this place starting to look familiar to you?" questioned Kiera as she looked around at the trees.

Ryley raised an eyebrow at her. "How can you see anything?" She tapped the bridge of his nose. "Oh. Right. Twenty-twenty vision... No, I haven't gotten lost in any forests lately."

"Shut up, I'm being serious. This place looks really familiar..."

"All forests look the same to me," remarked Ryley as he swept a few Neoshadows out of their path.

Kiera shuddered and not because of the rain. "This doesn't feel right..."

"That's because you're letting your imagination run wild," he replied. "Watch out, Kier, here comes Jason!"

She hit his arm. "You're not fucking funny, Ryley. This is serious. I feel claustrophobic and trapped and shit."

Ryley stopped. "We could sit and wait for the rain to let up?"

She shook her head. "I don't think that's going to help. Can't you feel anything? Seriously, concentrate."

Though he obviously did not think anything would come of it, Ryley decided to humor Kiera and closed his eyes. He could feel his blood pulsing and his heart rate increasing... Then, something he really did not expect happened. He saw a vision of himself standing before a large, funhouse mirror. As he stood just in front of it, the face of Cane appeared and shattered the mirror. Ryley jumped, startling Kiera into jumping, too. "Fuck," he breathed.

"What? What did you see?"

Ryley glanced around the forest and nodded to himself. "Kier, I think I know why you think you recognize this place..."

"...Why?" Kiera's shaking was very visible and her eyes were wide.

"This is the island where Cane died." **(A/n: I was actually originally going to send them to a different world, but I decided that this would help the plot along the most... because I want the next chapter to be the last. xD')**

**XxxxxX**

Though not sure of what they could do, Kairi, Naminé, and Roxas decided to go to Twilight Town because Destiny Islands had been determined as a lost cause. Two groups were journeying to Sunset Horizons, leaving the rest to go to Jewel's Grove. It had been determined, while still in the ships, that Reixka, Elie and Arach would drop the kids off with Kath, who was already watching Misao and Bryce. Given Kath's past history with watching the kids, they determined that it would be for the best if Axel and Demyx stayed, too. Kath was not totally pleased with the idea but consented nonetheless, mostly without ease because of Demyx, who she still did not like. The only reason that she agreed with it may have been because she was terrified of Arach. "Okay, so, you guys are going to be really, really good, right?" asked Elie.

The kids nodded; the three women rolled their eyes. "Well, when it turns out that you're lying, and you try to sneak out, you can't just sidestep Kath because... Axel and Demyx are staying, too." Immediately, the mood from the teenagers dropped from cheerful to distressed. Reixka smiled.

Arach grinned. "And I'll know." He tapped the side of his head. "Spidey senses, remember?" Camilla approached him a little half-heartedly, expecting something embarrassing to happen. And she was right. For the first time in a while, her father hugged her.

"What's that for?" asked Camilla when he released her.

"I just want you to know I love you, even though I have to yell at you a shit load. You've got a lot of heart, kid; I just want you to use it in the right place."

Camilla smiled. "Thanks, Dad. Love you, too."

"Be good. Remember... spidey senses!" he added with more emphasis than necessary. "Watch Naomi." Kath shooed the kids inside and Arach decided to wait outside, leaving Axel, Demyx, Elie and Reixka in the hallway.

"Don't forget to use that Heartless-repellant stuff. We'll be back sooner than you think, I'm sure." Reixka told Axel as she put her hand on either side of his face. "I love you."

Axel mumbled something incoherent and Reixka, in return, shook his face. "What I said was I love you too." On a more serious note, he added, "Please, be careful." He leaned down and kissed her.

Demyx and Elie were standing on the other side of the hallway, both staring at the ground in an awkward fashion. "So, uh, I guess you should go," said Demyx as he noticed Axel and Reixka finishing up.

Elie nodded. "Yeah... But we really shouldn't be gone too long. We're really almost done with all of this shit." Demyx had never seen Elie so calm in his whole time of knowing her. "You going to be okay on babysitting duty?"

"Of course; kids love me."

"You mean they love to pick on you."

"What?" asked Demyx, to which Elie replied with a sweet smile and, "Huh?"

Demyx shook his head. "Anyway, be careful, alright? It would be nice for you to come back in one piece."

"Aw, don't be silly; I'm _always _careful," lied Elie. She crunched the tip of her boot into the carpet, a shy gesture on her part. "Well, I really can't just leave you like this..." Elie, who was probably one of the shortest in the whole wielding group, stood on her tip toes and was still unable to reach Demyx's lips. He laughed, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her hard. When they broke apart a few seconds later, both were blushing an extraordinary amount. It was one of the most passionate kisses they had ever shared. Axel wolf-whistled and Reixka shouted, "Ow, ow!"

Blushing even more, Demyx mumbled, "Yeah, you should probably go... Remember, be careful."

Reixka slung her arm around Elie. "Don't worry, Demyx. Elie will be safe with me."

Axel snorted. "Yeah, it'll be safe for her to be unsafe."

As Elie and Reixka started down the stairs and heard Axel and Demyx go inside of Kath's townhouse, Elie mumbled, "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" questioned Reixka.

Elie shrugged a little. "I don't know... It just felt, like, foreboding. That whole goodbye thing just felt too permanent."

"It's okay," reassured Reixka. "We felt like that last time, too, and yet we're all still here... Well, except for Tristan."

"Mom!" yelled Anali from the top of the stairs. "Wait!" Elie and Reixka stopped at the bottom as Anali ran to join them. "Here." She placed a silver chain with a heart charm attached in her mother's hand. "I found it at the fair a few months ago. The woman said it would keep the wearer safe."

Reixka smiled and embraced her daughter. "Thanks, babe. I'll wear it." She kissed the top of Anali's head, put the necklace on, and the two of them exited the building.

**XxxxxX**

The ships beamed down Riku, Sora, Holly, Laurence and Sage in the same area, on the beach. They journeyed together through a small town and to the mansion. When they noticed the number of doors and probabilities of different rooms, they opted to split up. The foyer was eerily silent and empty. It showed signs of some sort of fray. "Camilla said that she saw Xemnas and Saïx fighting in the basement, in the dungeon. The door's on the side of the staircase," remarked Sora. "You guys can go check that out. We'll check the first floor, I guess."

"Sounds good," decided Holly as she began to walk forward.

"Wait," called Sora. "Hold on, come back." They rejoined him and Riku. Sora was holding his turquoise and plum Gameboy (complete with a flower on the bottom), whose screen was alit with Quince's face. "Yeah?"

"I just tried to call Kiera and Ryley's communicators. I couldn't get a signal through to Kiera's, but Ryley's... Farkas picked it up. I asked Aerith to try to trace the signal and she said that both of them are in Sunset Horizons, on the basement floor, but that's all she could do."

Riku nodded. "On second thought, then, I'll go down to the basement. Sage you can-"

"No, no," replied Holly as Sora clicked off his communicator. "Remember, Christian took Camilla, Kiera and Ryley. None of them are down there. Calm down, daddy."

"But, what if-" Riku protested.

Holly shook her head. "You do what you were going to originally do. If we find something, we'll let you know." Riku backed down as she, Sage and Laurence began to head for the basement. As Sora headed in another direction, Holly turned and ran back to Riku, jumping into his arms.

"Damn, Holl, what's with you?" asked Riku, his breathing a little off from the shock she had given him.

She kissed his cheek. "I don't want you to be mad at me, please? Come on, when this is all over, we can go back to the Islands and sit on the beach all day and drink Pina Coladas. Neither of us even has to work, okay?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "Desperate," he teased before kissing her lips. "Sounds good to me, Holl; I'll look forward to it."

"You better," she replied just before Laurence hollered, "Holly!" She jumped out of his arms and started down the hallway. When she reached the basement door, she winked as she opened the door. Instead, she fell through the gaping hole where the door should have been. "I'm okay!" she yelled once she hit the bottom. For a reason he could not explain, Riku immediately thought of Kiera.

"If you'd been walking with us, you probably would have noticed that the door's been knocked down," remarked Sage with a smirk as Laurence doubled-over with laughter. "That one at the end of that hall's been pretty mutilated, too." He gestured to the door that Ryley had broken with a claymore. No Nobodies appeared to them. Before they were at the end of the hallway, they could make out a hooded figure in the dark room ahead.

"I was wondering when somebody would show up," remarked the familiar, deep growl of Farkas. He turned around, tossing the turquoise-checked GBA up and down in his hand. "Took you long enough."

Holly stepped forward with Diamond Sky pointed at the wolf-man. "We don't follow your messed up schedule. Where did Xemnas and Saïx go?"

"Well," began Farkas with his teeth-baring grin, "some of him is on the ground." Shocked, the three wielders immediately looked down. Laurence lifted his shoe and found a thick liquid covering its sole. Farkas took advantage of their being distracted and rushed at Holly, knocking her flat on her back with a stab to her stomach.

Sage raised Old Faithful. "Figures a weakling like you would do something like that." As he raised the keyblade, vines broke through the cobblestone floor and wrapped around Farkas' legs.

"And you're better?" grunted Farkas as he attempted to free his legs without the aid of his blade. Laurence helped Holly stand; her injury was not great, just a slight cut into her skin.

"Pretty much," replied Sage as more vines wrapped around Farkas. "Tearing the throat of a young kid out? I'm definitely above that."

"So, this is for Tristan, and all of the others who you've harmed or killed!" exclaimed Holly as she and Laurence ran forward with their keyblades. When they attacked him, they freed him from the vines, but they decided the result was worth it.

**XxX**

"These guys sure were obsessed with Cane," noted Sora after watching a few of the tapes lying around in the library while Riku looked over the papers on the table. Riku rejoined him and nodded, as if the news didn't surprise him.

"Sure. Even though Cane's dead, they're still afraid. Not that we all aren't, even just a little. But, they let their fear consume them. Maybe they're just afraid because Cane is a wild card. We fear what we don't understand."

Sora crossed his arms and nodded. "So they were trying to understand him so they wouldn't be afraid?"

"I guess," replied Riku. "That makes me wonder if they knew Cane was going to be revived the whole time."

"There are way too many questions here," complained Sora. "So, did you find anything else?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah, all of those papers on the table confirm what Camilla told us, but that's about it."

"Still no Xemnas or Saïx."

**XxxxxX**

Eventually, the trees began to dwindle in number and, if possible, the Heartless amount increased. "This is insane!" shouted Ryley as he attempted to cut Darkballs, Shadows and Neoshadows out of his path.

"But this is definitely the place," remarked Kiera as she pushed past the Heartless she could not destroy. "Maybe that's why there are so many more Heartless."

"Yeah, they're probably feeding off of our darkness."

Kiera raised her eyebrows. "I don't think you have enough darkness for them to really, really feed off and increase in number. No offense, Ry," she added.

"You can't even recognize your boyfriend's voice from mine? That's so sad." Kiera searched for the source of the voice when she realized that Ryley was still fighting off Heartless. She turned in the general direction of the voice, and found Christian standing near the lilac-colored pool. "Nice to see you again, Kiera."

"Nice isn't the word," replied Kiera, "but I won't let you get the best of me this time."

Christian laughed. "You won't have to if you give me the satchel I know you have. Don't play stupid. Hand over the voodoo witch's stuff." Kiera hesitated. "I know Camilla told you. My father can revive your mother."

Kiera stared at the unnatural water. "I hate to see this, and I hope my mom doesn't hate me for saying it, but I don't know if the revival of an ultimate enemy is worth one life."

"That's very big of you, Kiera," replied Christian as he approached her. He sounded normal to her; she couldn't make a judgement based on his appearance because of the rain cutting visibility. "But I know you don't mean it." Conquer-Control swept through the fog and hit her in the chest and knocked her to the ground. "Give it to me, or I will take it from you."

"I guess you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers," she hissed as she fell into mud.

Christian shook his head. "No, I can't kill either of you. I need both of you to help me."

Ryley quickly joined them, stepping in front of Kiera. "Don't touch her," he warned.

Christian sneered. "Your sentiments are sweet, but I'm not interested in a soap opera." Ryley narrowed his eyes and rushed at Christian.

The attack was easily sidestepped, and Ryley nearly flew into the mud before he was able to stop himself. Christian's irises had gained a more intense violet edge to them. He waved Conquer-Control and a violet-colored wavelength shot out from the tip and tore up the mud. Ryley easily sidestepped the attack and, while the wavelength was still moving, threw Harmonic Destruction and Christian, who stumbled backwards. Ryley recalled his keyblade and rushed at Christian once more, this time succeeding. He slammed his keyblade against his half-brother's chest while he was still attempting to regain his balance from the first attack. As Ryley moved in for another attack, Christian regained his balance and, at the same time, roundhouse kick Ryley right in the stomach.

Ryley fell to the ground and Christian drew power from a source that the former could not see. The keyblade began to glow with violet light shortly before it was thrown near, but not at, Ryley. A burst of energy escaped from the blade, shocking Ryley with a force reminiscent of one of Larxene's lightning bolts. Kiera stood up as she came up with a plan. If Christian was acting the way he was because of darkness, then light should be able to harm him. However, when she tried to summon her light and use it, only a tiny bit escaped from her hands. It did not even come close to reaching Christian. "Ryley!" she called as he stood and got back into a fighting stance. He looked in her direction. "Use your light! If Christian is half as dark as he seems to be, it should work pretty well."

Because of Ryley's distraction, Christian had more than enough time to light up Conquer-Control with the violet energy again. This time, he threw the keyblade at Ryley, right at his stomach. He smirked with satisfaction when his half-brother flew a few feet in the air before sliding in the mud. The keyblade promptly disappeared from Ryley's stomach, leaving a particularly large gash in it. Kiera pounced on Christian from behind. "What... are you doing? Get off!" He ordered.

She shook her head. "No! Leave Ryley alone!"

"You are a foolish girl, aren't you?" grunted Christian. "Keira!" Kiera's eyebrows knitted together at her confusion, and Christian's body became alight with dark energy. It burned Kiera to the touch, but it was also more than successful in throwing her off and somewhere behind him. She felt like she had been drained of her energy and could not get back up. Christian's distraction gave Ryley more than enough of an opening to horizontally slice Christian's chest. He ripped his shirt somewhat and cut into his skin. Ryley struck again, this time slamming into Christian's keyblade-wielding arm, and had enough force to bring Christian to the ground. It was starting to look like Ryley was getting the upper hand, but Christian's little friend would never allow that. "Enough! Let's end this!"

Christian rid himself of the keyblade and threw his arms before him. "Darkness!" Ryley was standing right in his path. The purple light that left Christian's hands threw Ryley about ten feet and cut through his clothes and seeped into his skin as if it were made of acid. It burned Ryley, whose screams were enough to chill Kiera all the way down to her bones.

Ryley was left lying on the ground with seriously deep gashes. He was covered in blood. Kiera ran over to his side, and he reached up to her cheek. "Kier, it's not too late to leave. Get out of here."

"I'm not leaving without you, Ryley," she said seriously before turning toward Christian who was smirking. Kiera grabbed the satchel, which had been tied to her studded white belt, and threw it to Christian. "There. You have your voodoo crap. Is that enough for you?"

"Not quite. Don't move, either of you." Christian moved to the water and dropped the satchel. He begin to make some sort of shape with the candles that he pulled out of the bag. The rain subdued.

Kiera turned her attention back to Ryley. She placed both of her hands on either side of his face and looked down at him. Her bangs became unplastered from her forehead and some of the water dripped onto his face. "Kiera..."

"No, Ryley," she replied as she began to dig into her pockets, looking for any sort of potion. "Fuck. I can't believe that I don't have _anything_. Ryley, hang in there, okay? I'll get us out of here soon, I promise." Kiera smoothed back his hair. "Wow, I just noticed... You left your hat back in the Radiant Garden." Ryley was abruptly lifted by Christian and dragged to the summoning circle that he had made with the candles. "Let him go!"

"Shut up." Christian held Ryley's left arm over the water and squeezed a particularly large gash on his wrist. Ryley screamed with pain and a decent amount of blood dropped into the water. When he was finished with his half-brother, Christian shoved Ryley to the side and Kiera rushed to him again. He pulled out the vial with Quince's blood and dropped it into the water, too. "Kiera, come here." Kiera did not and Christian looked back at her. "If you don't come here, I'll finish Ryley off right here, right now." She immediately sprinted to his side and looked into the water. It was a faint color and had what looked like bits of bone floating in the water. Although she did not want to remember it, Kiera realized that the bones were the squished remains of Dennis and Quince's parents, that she and Camilla had squished over a year ago after falling into the hall where they had been thrown.

Christian held his wrist above the water, took Conquer-Control, and slit it. More blood poured into the pool, changing the color to a dark red. Then, without saying another word, Christian shoved Kiera into the bloody water. Kiera screamed bloody murder and immediately tried to get back out, but Christian would not let her. The pool had once served as Cane's fountain of youth though it was now contaminated. It was made by the Luces that Cane had trashed... "Yes, I can see your face. It's obviously hard for you to catch on to what I'm doing. You are beyond tainted with darkness. The water had once been filled with simply the remains of the Luces, but now it has been contaminated by darkness with the blood and the remains. Darkness, an ample amount, is necessary to revive my father, so..." He took the mechanical gear keychain off of the keyblade and it reverted from Conquer-Control to the Dark Keyblade. "Release your darkness, Kiera!" The keyblade stabbed into her chest, and her mind went foggy.

**XxxxxX**

"Blood," noticed Riku as he and Sora returned to the Foyer. A long trail of blood led from the basement door, through the foyer, and off to the left. "I don't know how we didn't notice it before."

"Only one thing to do," remarked Sora as he summoned Ultima as they followed the trail off to a door on the left. When they entered the room, they were somewhat astonished by the size. It was a study with a large, chestnut desk, crème carpet, and two large bookcases covering the walls. They broke apart only for the door and for a large window that reached all the way down to the floor. There was a magnificent view of some of the garden and the town down below. Even the beach and its sunset were in perfect view. Sora and Riku followed the large blood trail to the other side of the desk. Slumped against the window was Xemnas. There was no good reaction for what they saw. Riku simply stared at the man while Sora looked close to yelling his head off.

Xemnas' body bore many large gashes, obviously from his fight with Saïx, which were likely responsible for the blood trail but probably not for his death. Without a doubt, the cause of his death, or an overreaction on Saïx's part, was a humongous gash atop his head. It was not easy to look at; Sora had to turn away. "Nice claymore-sized stab in the head. I'm no doctor; I don't know which part of his wounds killed him, but the way Saïx did this... He's obviously been holding a grudge for a really long time."

"That sort of surprises me," murmured Sora. "Xemnas relied on Saïx more than he did anybody else. Saïx got more power than any other Organization member even though he was the seventh member."

Riku shook his head. "Maybe he hasn't been holding a grudge since the Organization times; maybe more recently, like when we first found Stefa. Still..." He whistled. "What a way to go."

"Now Xemnas can't tell us anything..." Sora trailed off. "I wonder why he came to this room, though."

"Probably because he knew it was the last bit of light he'd ever see again," remarked Riku as he stared at the beach in the horizon, attempting to overlook the large blood stains on the window. "We may as well go catch up with the others."

**XxX**

Holly ducked the falchion and hit Farkas square in the stomach, knocking him into the bars on the opposite side. He howled with pain and some blood was left on the steel bars as he slid to the ground and transformed into a whimpering wolf. "You've become sort of pathetic," she remarked, bending over the canine with a satisfied grin. Laurence and Sage were standing relatively near on either side of her, but none of them had a fast enough reaction for what was about to happen.

The wolf began to growl and snarl very suddenly, which made Holly start to move back, but she did not do so fast enough. Farkas jumped, bowling her over with his large paws on her chest and knocked her head into the bars. His mouth was around her throat. It was like deja-vu for Laurence. Sage remembered standing on a balcony in Castle Oblivion with Holly while they awaited the arrival of Sora, Riku and the others. After he had jumped to fight them, she had been complaining and taunting him about Laurence, to which he had snapped something at her... He let that memory, and all of the others, fuel his fire. "No!" Sage snarled as he stabbed Old Faithful as hard as he could into Farkas. The keyblade went a few inches into the wolf's body, which was enough to make him release Holly. Laurence swept Farkas down the hallway with a brutal swing of Hellfire.

"Holly." Laurence knelt down beside his sister, but she waved him off as she sat up. Some blood was sliding down her throat, but it was no where near as bad as he and Sage had feared.

Old Faithful returned to his hand. "Cura," murmured Sage as he pointed his keyblade at her throat. Though the blood did not fade, the tear in her throat disappeared, as if it had never been there. The gash on the back of her head also disappeared.

Holly smiled at the man and boy before her. She began to laugh, at which point Sage and Laurence exchanged worried glances. "It's so funny. For so long I tried to get you two together... I hinted at you so strongly, Sage, that I may as well have been wearing a "Date Laurence" shirt. And, now... _Now _I'm able to join you together."

Laurence blushed and looked away while Sage looked mildly uncomfortable. "Holly, that time's over now. That was ages ago... I'm still young and Laurence is not."

"Love doesn't have an age," argued Holly. "Don't you get that? It has no strings attached... Unless your name is Riku or Quince or Stefa." Sage grinned as he and Laurence stood and held out a hand for Holly. They looked down the hallway, where Farkas was laying.

Sage shook his head. "How pathetic."

"Whoa, another lack of a door. Someone was impatient," they heard Sora say as he and Riku entered through the hole in the door. "You guys okay?" He called down to Laurence, Sage and Holly.

Holly beamed. "Perfect! I think, after all of this time, I finally got through to the two knuckle heads!"

Riku shook his head, smiling faintly. "We were talking about Farkas..." He bent down over the wolf and kicked him in the side. "Farkas, we want answers; transform." Growling faintly, Farkas did as he was told and reverted to his human form. "Where's Saïx?"

Farkas chuckled. "At Jewel's Grove... He'll be there even once he's satisfied that Cane's been revived... He has some unfinished business with some of your friends there." Sage's blood went cold and, with a single glance, he could tell that the other's felt the same way. "Oh, yeah... You've still got a long way ahead of you... Or do you?"

"What does that mean?" demanded Sora.

The wolfman chuckled again, blood leaking out of his mouth, as he rested his head against the cobblestone. "You'll find out soon enough, or maybe you won't. I guess you'll never know." He closed his amber eyes and they never reopened again.

**XxxxxX**

Deirdre turned around from her spot at the balcony as the glass door opened and closed. Camilla, with Naomi on her lap, and Anali were sitting on two lounging chairs behind her and beside the door. Kamon had just exited the house and was pocketing his silver purple-blue GBA. "Aerith said that Kaspar, Caleb and Cashel are near someplace called Woodchip Mountain... She said that she didn't get it, either."

"I know where that is!" exclaimed Camilla. Her sudden shout made Naomi drop the Barbie doll head that she had been holding. "Oh, we can go get them. And, not to mention, get the hell out of here."

"We?" questioned Anali with a bright smile.

Camilla shook her head. "Of course you're coming with, Ana. What about you, Deirdre?" Deirdre nodded her head eagerly. "Great, that means that Kamon gets to babysit and explain what we're doing to the others. Have fun, Kamon," said Camilla as she handed Naomi over to him.

Kamon frowned. "What? I'm the one who asked about them! This isn't fair!"

"Life's not fair, Kamon. Eventually, we get over that fact," pointed out Anali. "Alright! Ready?" she asked Camilla.

Axel, who had possibly the best timing in the world, had opened the door at the moment. "Ready? For what?"

"Uh..." Anali trailed off and looked to the others for help but got none, particularly from Kamon. "...A dance off?"

"You guys plan on leaving, huh?"

Camilla raised her index finger as she got an idea. "You remember when Uncle Quince took off in that portal to find Aunt Stefa? This is kind of like that! Look at all of the Heartless out there. No cars can even go down the street." She gestured to the street that the balcony overlooked which was overrun with Shadows. "We have to rescue my brothers and Cashel. Come on, have a heart."

Axel stared at her for a moment. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I don't care what anyone says; you're way too much like Nalani..."

"Does that mean yes?" asked Camilla eagerly. Axel nodded.

Anali embraced him tightly. "Thank you, Daddy! You won't regret it, I promise. We'll be back really soon, too, I swear." Camilla summoned a portal and Deirdre immediately dove inside while Camilla waited for Anali, who gave her father a quick peck before also darting into the blackness.

"Thanks, Axel!" called Camilla before she, too, disappeared.

**XxX**

The candles, which were formed a pentagram, were blown out as a sudden gust of wind picked up and lightning and thunder exploded in the sky. Christian was throwing some powders into the water, which had gone from dark red to a dark plum color. He pulled out a sheet of paper and began to chant something in a different language. More lightning and thunder exploded as the sky turned completely black. Kiera's body had drifted into the water and Christian's brown eyes now held an edge of violet to them. He chanted one more thing and the water began to bubble. A bolt of dark lightning rained down from the sky, blinding Christian and Ryley a little.

Christian stood and waited. Once five minutes passed, he began to worry that he had done something wrong or that it wasn't going to work. Then, with a great deal of force, Kiera's body flew out of the water and landed near Ryley's. Finally, something else began to come out of the pool. One pale hand hit the muddy grass with a resounding thud and then the other. A head of medium-length, thick black hair rose from the water. The figure lifted himself from the water, which dripped off him as the thunder and lightning receded. The wind continued to blow hard.

The man was tall and somewhat muscular, particularly in the biceps. He wore a black wife beater and a pair of long, dark beige cargo pants with numerous zippers and pockets. His bangs covered his left eye but not enough so that the spiderweb-shaped scar was visible. Cane looked around his surroundings and smirked, particularly when his reddish-brown eye fell upon Christian. "Son. My son," he whispered as he approached the boy and put his hands on his shoulders. "You have done well for me; I'm proud." Christian was humbled; he bowed his head. "And my old friend," he said, still staring at Christian, "You have done even better."

Cane moved past Christian and stopped before Ryley and Kiera. Ryley immediately scrambled to his feet despite the intense pain it caused him. He gritted his teeth as he faced his father. "Ryley. How very pathetic you are... I suppose your mother _was _weak-hearted, and my brother raising you really sapped you of any actual potential you could have had. Christian, on the other hand has overcome the weak woman who raised him. Then again, mind-control is also a very beautiful thing..."

"Cane... Why?" Ryley wasn't sure why he was asking or even what he was asking of the sinister man. He fell to one knee. "Why bother dying at all... You could have run away, could have beaten everyone... But this is what you chose."

"I like an entrance," chuckled Cane. "I wanted to squish the hope out of everyone; I wanted to destroy them... And then, I made it so that they would _need _me to restore some of their hope. It was a brilliant plan, it really was..." He looked down at Kiera's unconscious form and shook his head. Cane bent down and grabbed a fistful of her hair, to which Ryley reacted to by summoning his keyblade and pointing it at him. "See? _Here _is your good... Go on, look. No funny tricks, I promise." Ryley did not take Cane's word for much but looked down nonetheless. Kiera's hair had been completely wiped of its stripes. It was back to its bright yellow color. When Cane noticed the look on his son's face, he remarked, "Hard to be angry with the man who did that, hm?"

Ryley grimaced. "Not really."

"But, Ryley, I saved her from the darkness, just like I will her mother," stated Cane. "How could that not make me a better man?"

"Because you're a sick, manipulative son of a bitch," answered Ryley easily. He winced and fell to his knees.

Cane smirked. "Ah, yes. That's right." He stood as his son fell to the ground completely. "Quite a shame. Quite. Begone!" With a wave of his hands and a flash of darkness, the two teenagers disappeared from the island. "Now," he began as he turned toward Christian, "the good stuff _really _starts." As he stared at his second son, the violet left his irises and a breeze rolled off of him. "You are free to do as you please, Christian."

Christian stared at his father with a truly confused look on his face. "But... but... I did so much for you. I've done all that I've done just to be able to see you."

"And you do see me," declared Cane.

"But... I thought... I thought you would take me under your wing, or something..."

Cane chuckled. "I will be honest with you, Christian. You are simply the result of a particularly good night of mine. To break down Tiesa to the point I did was deeply satisfying for me. Very deeply..." He licked his lips. "Although I am happy that I was able to use you to bring me back to this world, that is all I am. Happy."

Christian could not find the words for what he wanted to say. In fact, he didn't want to say anything at all. He relinquished in his anger, happy of it. His father was pleased about it, too, he could tell by the glint in his eye. "I will go on. I know what I want to do," he mumbled as his darkness reached a new level; it practically rolled off of him. A dark portal appeared before him with ease, and he quickly disappeared.

The silhouette of Keira appeared beside Cane. "It is a shame; a waste, really."

"Yes, pitiful," he agreed half-heartedly.

She raised an eyebrow. "Don't you feel any sort of connection with your own son?"

"I should; he's so much stronger than Ryley. However, he's so plagued by a failure of the mind... He could never be a really good wielder, and that's what I need. His heart is weak."

"I thought you said Ryley's heart was weak?"

Cane laughed. "Oh so far from. Despite his horrendous wounds, he was still ready to get up and protect Kiera."

Keira raised the eyebrow. "Then, you _do _believe love makes the heart stronger."

"I do not believe that. Will, maybe. Maybe not. Maybe his parents," remarked Cane. "I'm just fortunate to have never had a child with Destine."

"That child would have never made it past age five," agreed Keira. "Now what do you do?"

"Raise the dead," answered Cane. "And you?"

Keira smiled as her body began to disappear. "Continue to lurk in the darkness for a while longer."

**XxX**

The corridors of darkness led to the park where, a year earlier, Kiera had told Camilla about 'Niem' and the Heartless. There, they found Cashel, Kaspar, and Caleb sitting on the swing set. "Caleb!" Anali kicked up the woodchips as she ran to join her boyfriend. She practically jumped atop him in her eagerness and, instead, settled for throwing her arms around him. "I'm sorry. I never got to say sorry for how I acted towards you at the Postern, so I really wanted to say that." Taking a deep breath, she released him and cleared her throat. "Okay, go see your twin."

Caleb joined his brother and Cashel before Camilla. "Cam, are you okay?" demanded Kaspar. "I'll kill that kid, Camilla, I swear."

"No, you won't." Her tone was defeated but somewhat final; an odd mixture. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Really." She turned toward Cashel. A moment of silence passed as the two of them simply stared at each other, which was finally broken by her saying, "Cashel..."

Cashel shook his head and raised his hand. "No, you don't have to say anything. I guess I must have done something wrong, huh? Like... if I were a better boyfriend, you wouldn't have liked Christian so much. But, that's behind me now; I'm not mad anymore."

"Really?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"...Alright, I'm only a little mad now," he amended with a grin. "You've got to do what you've got to do. I can't stop your heart from doing what it wants. And here I hoped we had a heart connection..."

"Wait, Camilla, you're not still going after Christian?" demanded Caleb. "He's... evil. And who knows what he did to Ryley and Kiera!"

Camilla nodded. "I know. Trust me, no one knows all of that better than me. So I'm gonna fix it. But, Cashel, I just want you to know that I really appreciate your understanding... And I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "Hey. Being with you for over a year has done great things for me. I have a new life, now, a beating heart. Besides, what's the point of having a bird if you only keep it in the cage all day long, right?" She smiled and kissed his cheek. "You could give me a little more, you know. Break up sex wouldn't be too bad..." At this point, Kaspar and Caleb reminded him of their presence by pushing him into the woodchips.

Camilla jumped as her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Honestly, she had forgotten she still had it. When she slid open the purple phone, she noticed that it was a text message from a number that she didn't recognize. It read: _'Meet me in Lomura. -C' _If she was being honest with herself, then she could admit that she had an idea of who it would be before she even read it. She glanced around at the others, who were staring at her as if they knew what she was about to do. "So, I'll see you guys later." It took a lot of self-restraint on her part to not add, "I hope."

"Camilla, don't go," pleaded Anali like she knew where Camilla was going and what she was going to do. "Stay with us."

"No can do," replied Camilla with a smile. "What I have to do is too important... But, if you find Kiera, tell her that I love her and she is the best almost-sister that any girl could ask for. And tell Ryley that if he hurts Kiera, I'll know." She held out her hand and summoned a portal. Neither of her brothers let her leave until, for a change of pace, they kissed her forehead. "Anali, take care of Caleb for me; he's sorta hopeless." Then, she disappeared.

Deirdre shook her head. "I don't like that. That seemed like too much of a goodbye."

**XxX**

"Are you sure that this is even a remotely good idea?" Nalani asked Quince as they walked through some residential area. They had to walk with their keyblades already summoned because what Heartless were not already out in the open would appear by the tens immediately.

Quince shrugged and Nalani hit her forehead. "Cid said that there was a weird reading coming from a building around here," he answered as he looked down at his red Gameboy, which had a map on it. "We're almost there."

"But Cid's getting old! What if his senile old mind just thinks that there's a weird reading but it's actually something completely different?" demanded Nalani.

"Nalani, I think that we can trust him on this," assured Quince. "But if it's normal, then that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, right?"

Nalani eagerly nodded her head as she knocked a Shadow away from her with more force than what was necessary. "Yeah, it would. We'd have walked all the way through this Heartless-filled neighborhood for no reason. It's times like these when I actually miss being pregnant. At the time, I hated being left behind to do nothing, but now I really, really miss it."

"Yeah, I can relate," said Quince with a grin.

"Quince, you're such a buttmunch!" groaned Nalani as she shoved him to the side.

"That may be true," he replied as they stopped before a large, factory-like building. "But we're here."

Nalani looked up at the building. "What's the point of having those windows at the very top?" She wondered. As she stared at the small windows that lined the top of the building, something or someone blue and black passed. "Hey! Did you see that?"

Quince nodded. "Yeah, that could have been Saïx. Let's go." With some difficulty, he pushed the door open and they entered the dark faculty. As soon as they stepped a few feet into the room, the doors slammed shot with a finality that could not have meant anything good.

Nalani shoved Quince. "Well, so much for this being a good idea..."

* * *

** A/n: A big thank you to Lesser for showing me this song last summer. As soon as I heard the beginning (the lyrics I posted are from the very beginning of the song), I got the idea for the phoenix being symbolized as Cane's rebirth. ;3 And, some six chapters later, I remembered Demyx... better late than never!(?) xD'**


	21. One Last Chance

**El Proximo Chapter:**

One Last Chance

**A/n: In regards to this chapter, I have really saved the best for last. ****T****he song**** I chose ****is just chaotic enough for this chapter, so please youtube it!**** I also have another set of lyrics more into the chapter, so when you get there you can switch the song. Either one, at that point in the chapter, is good for the feel. Now, I've comprehended the ending for the better part of my senior year. I was going to go with an optional ending, too, in case the actual ending & next story managed to insult you somehow, but I decided against it, sorry. :) Alright, please enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_'My knuckles have turned to white; there's no turning back tonight,_

_So hold on tight, kiss me one last time_

_Shut your...-_

_I will now bring new meaning to the word alone._

_Endless nights of dreaming of life,_

_And the days we should have spent here.'_

**-"Dangerous Business Since 1979" by the Legion of Doom**

**

* * *

**

Since she had departed to help her friends, Stefa had not seen either the woman or Ansem in the darkness. She had been, once again, left alone in it. Yet it was starting to feel like the darkness was loosening its grip on her. Although her mind was foggy, as was the rest of her body, she could slowly feel the pressure leaving her. Light burned through her vision despite the fact she was sure her eyes had yet to open. "If you had one chance to reverse things, would you?" An amused, male voice questioned her. She could not find the source of the voice immediately in all of the darkness. The voice was familiar; it painted pictures of Arach impaling two of her good friends in the darkened Disney Castle. It painted pictures of Nalani with her first engagement ring. It painted pictures of Maureen wielding a long sword. Ceron.

"Ceron?" murmured Stefa, her voice groggy. "What are you saying?"

"Just answer the question. And, in addition to that, what are you so afraid of?"

Stefa blinked her eyes and shook her head. She could see herself and the late Ceron standing in the center of whiteness, nothingness. It was the total opposite of where she had been for what seemed like years. "I'm afraid of being indecisive; it's cost me a lot."

Ceron nodded, as if he had been expecting the answer. "Then, I think those two questions go hand in hand, but I should still ask. If you could change things, would you?"

"Change things?" she repeated. She thought about it. Stefa could remember being beaten by her own darkness, appearing in a fountain that she had made run red, seeing Quince again, and going on dates with Riku... And, more recently, having Kiera, nearly losing Kiera at a young age to a Heartless, then actually losing her to Cane. Stefa could feel her eyes burn with tears. She cried, "Of course I would!"

The light that had been burning through her body as the darkness left transformed into pure power. The power rippled beneath her skin and burned through her veins.

**XxxxxX**

Lomura Kai was, for a change, empty and quiet. There was not so much as a Shadow roaming the street, not a partier passed out in the gutter. Camilla looked around the street she had appeared on and felt extremely uncomfortable immediately. But, she reminded herself, she still had something to do. She wandered up the street, not quite sure where she would find Christian, but wanting to take in the sights of her second home for just a while.

She found herself in a particularly dark neighborhood that she knew quite well; this was where her family's home was. The residents called the neighborhood the "dark corner." Camilla passed the grandesque house that was her family's vacation house, passed by Destine and Maggie's old house. She stopped between the two houses, glancing up at her window and then Christian's.

_Camilla __stared at Christian with __bright red cheeks and a mortified expression. "How much did you see?" she demanded._

_ Her voice carried across the alleyway perfectly. The houses weren't too terribly far apart, nor were they directly on top of each other. "Enough," he replied with a grin. _

_ Camilla pursed her lips. "It's not nice to spy!" _

_ "We're friends, right? Does it really count as spying?" replied Christian with ease. He was still grinning, and Camilla was still looking mortified. _

_ "Well, okay. Even if we're friends, it's still some sort of stalking.__"_

Camilla smiled fondly at the memory, knowing that was all she could do. She knew that when she found Christian that he would not revert back to that fun, playful Christian. He would be the Christian that threatened her, that beat up on her best friends. That was not the Christian she wanted to know, and she also knew that it was not the Christian that the real Christian would want around to further destroy his reputation. That was how she had reached the decision. There was still a good chance that she could lose her gut and go back on the promise she made to herself about taking him out of her misery. In fact, that wouldn't have surprised her. She _loved _him. He had been good to her, and she had felt a real connection. Until she saw the sparkling liquid sitting on the asphalt, Camilla had not been aware that she was crying.

She wiped her tears as she moved past the houses and headed deeper into the neighborhood. There were more houses, naturally. Holly and Laurence's house had ivy growing on it, more than a few broken windows, and some graffiti from those who had been brave enough to tag it. She frowned at one in particular that read, "Faggot!" Camilla continued to move, passing Sage's house, which was in amazing condition (which made sense because he had been living in it). Then, at the very end of the street, and at a foot of the mountain, she found what she knew was Tiesa's house. The reason she knew which house was which was because her father had taken her and her brothers on a tour when they went there for their first vacation. Tiesa's house had less than any of the other houses. Apparently, someone had burned it down, so all that was left was some charred siding, broken beyond belief furniture, and a crushed staircase.

Sure enough, she found Christian standing outside of the ruins, staring at them with a lethal expression. Even from some feet away, Camilla could tell that he was not well. His energy was tainted, black, and plain disgusting to be near. It was like being around Cane himself, but on a smaller scale. Camilla was not sure how to announce her presence. Luckily, this problem was taken away from her as she walked down the sidewalk. "Camilla," remarked Christian without any real emotion as he turned toward her. She attempted to fight back a gasp but could not. If he had looked terrible back at Sunset Horizons when he had walked into her room with Maggie's blood on him, he looked even worse now. Large gashes and cuts covered his body, particularly his wrist. Flecks of blood were on his face and his jeans, too. His clothes were torn in multiple areas.

Camilla wanted to ask what had happened but did not care to approach him or ask if he was okay. She knew what had happened, anyway, and knew the boy, whose blood he proudly wore, was in worse shape than him. That was just one of the beauties of being someone's close, close friend. "Ryley and Kiera better be okay," she warned.

"You'll kill me if they're not, I know," replied Christian with a very defeated expression. "You know, it's funny. Farkas once told me that my potential was in the light and yours was in the darkness. Yet I'm the one using the darkness. Funny how these things worked out. He also said that you'd probably be forced to kill me if I harmed your family or friends..." He trailed off before looking her right in the eye. "Guess I better come clean, then. Your friend, my half-brother, is either dead or about to die."

Her teeth clenched together. "What?" Camilla did not know which emotion to feel first: sadness or anger? She could work with both. In fact, both would probably make short work of Christian. The last time she and Ryley had actually been around each other in their free time, she had screamed her head off at him. Now, he was about to die. "Ryley... Christian, I could never forgive you for this. Ever." It was difficult for her to get her tone above a hiss.

"I thought all along that family would fix this. I thought once I found my father, I'd be alright. Thought Arach was my father and that really ruined stuff between you and I. Then, I figured out I was Cane's son and what do I do? Kill my new brother. And Cane doesn't want anything to do with me; he just wanted to use me to revive him... Family didn't fix anything." Christian sounded bitter, and Camilla could understand why, but she did not want to. She did not want to feel badly for the beast that would attack her family and friends. Most certainly, Camilla did not want to feel bad for her almost-sister's boyfriend, her future brother-in-law brother.

All of her emotions were boiling to a point that Camilla could not control, so she screamed. It was not a terrified scream. She screamed out of anger, screamed because of everything that had been fucked up in the past couple years, and she screamed because her soul mate had been taken away from her. Camilla looked at Christian and could not even say anything, but she decided that she did not need to. She allowed her anger to result in something, to give her power. The ground began to rumble and shake; Christian looked around with only somewhat of a concerned expression. A thick vine broke through the street, sending chunks of asphalt flying each way. More rose through the ruins of Tiesa's house. "I hate... You're a monster, and I have to... You can't be allowed to live anymore." She was surprised that she could say the words so calmly while her insides felt like they were burning. The sidewalk shattered as more vines poked out through there and the street was also further destroyed by the vegetation. Christian, now very clearly surprised, began to back off, which was the wrong way; he was heading toward the bottom of the mountain, and that would not help him.

Regaining his mind, Christian ran forward, ducking away from some vines and trying to cut others out of his way. He ran right past her and Camilla closed her eyes, knowing that she had to chase him.

**XxxxxX**

Cane's sweep of darkness had sent Kiera and Ryley to the area where Woodchip Mountain sat with the other mountains of playground supplies. They appeared beside a small pond. At first, Kiera was not sure what was going on. She sat up and was puzzled as to how she had arrived there. She decided not to question it, particularly when she found a very bloodied up Ryley lying on the ground near her. "Ryley!" Kiera practically crawled over to him and she picked up his head and placed it in her lap when she approached him.. "Ry... Ryley, I never got to tell you how sorry I am, and I'm really, really sorry. I've been such a bitch. I really don't care how we're related, I don't. I love you and that's all that matters to me." Her eyes burned with tears. "You're everything to me, the only thing that's always stayed the same even when everything's been changing... I love you, and I can't lose you. Please, wake up. Wake up."

Much to her delight, he did. His eyes slowly opened and she practically squealed at the excitement of seeing his beautiful brown eyes again. "Kiera? What are we doin' here..?"

"I have no flipping idea, but I don't care," she replied. "Just stay with me, okay?"

Ryley smiled and shook his head. "I really can't hang on much longer."

"No, please. Come on. Just do it for me. Please, hold on. I don't have anything to help you or make you feel better..." Kiera trailed off as realization dawned upon her. "Wait! Magic! Of course, magic!" She gently laid him back on the ground and summoned Essence of the Heart. "Curaga!" she cried as she pointed the keyblade at Ryley. Nothing came out of the keyblade, not even a little. "...What? Cure!" Nothing happened. "Cura! Cure! _Cure_!" Still, nothing happened. Kiera fell to her knees, gasping with sobs. "Oh... oh, God. I don't have any magic. That stupid darkness thing stole all of my magic! Ry, you must have magic. Try it." Ryley shook his head. "Try it, please."

Ryley humored her. He summoned Harmonic Destruction, which he could barely hold, and tried to cast cure on himself. Like Kiera, he had been hit by the darkness attacks, but many more times. His magic had been sapped, too. Kiera could not believe it. "What a... sick bastard. I hate this! I hate him! This... This..." She returned to Ryley's side and put his head back in her lap. "It's okay. Someone will have to find us, right?"

"You could find someone..."

"...And leave you for the Heartless? No way. This world is too big, and only the people we know can help us. Who even knows if they're here," choked Kiera. As she tried to calm her breathing, Ryley simply stared up at her, unable to fathom how she could still be beautiful even with her eyes turning red and her eyeliner becoming smudged. Yet, she could do it.

"Kier?"

"Huh?"

"Tell me something, anything. A story or anything. I don't care. I just want to hear your voice," he requested in a weak voice.

Kiera barely managed a smile. She wiped her tears and nodded. "Okay. There was once this boy named Ryley. He was too pretty for his own good and hung out with real jerks. Then, one day, he was discovered in choir by a lovely, but flawed, girl named Kiera. She loved him the instant she saw him, particularly when he caught her after his jerkoff of a friend tripped her..."

If only she knew that Deirdre, Kaspar, Caleb, and Anali were just some feet away in the park.

**XxX**

The gigantic building, Nalani soon recalled, had once been a chocolate factory. Once, Stefa's crazy, ice-fishing uncle had brought Stefa and Nalani for a tour of the place. At that time, the factory had been alive with buzzing sounds, the chatter of workers, and the smell of chocolate. Shortly after Jewel's Grove had nearly been lost to the darkness, the Heartless had overrun the factory, stolen the hearts of the workers, and, as a result, the factory had never been used again. In fact, the whole business district they were standing in had not been in use for over fifteen years. Now all that was left to the factory were a bunch of unused conveyer belts, tons of machines, many flights of stairs leading to the room where the boss had overlooked the factory, and a couple of catwalks. It was one huge nightmare, and Neoshadows were currently jumping all over the place as Nalani and Quince climbed onto a conveyer belt.

One of the Heartless scraped its claws against the button that should have turned on the belt but, because it had been unused for so long, nothing happened. Neoshadows were starting to appear in the warehouse. When they first started to appear, they weren't too difficult to take care of. Now, it seemed, with every Neoshadow they killed, five more appeared in its place. "Saïx, show yourself!" roared Quince as he deflected the claws of a Neoshadow.

"I enjoy watching the two of you struggle much more," chuckled the Berserker.

Nalani turned toward Quince. "So? Any bright ideas?"

He shook his head as they were forced back to back by a mob of Heartless. "None."

"Well, there's a first time for everything," she mocked as she jumped into a small ring of the Neoshadows and cast a firaga spell. "Did you send Arach, Reixka or Elie the map?" Quince nodded. "Then, they better stop dragging their asses and help us soon."

**XxxxxX**

"Coming here was a horrible- thank you, Olette," added Kairi as the brunette woman handed her a mug filled with fresh tea. Kairi, Roxas and Naminé were sitting at Olette and Hayner's kitchen table. The Heartless amount had quickly taken them over and, after suffering more than a few bad hits, Naminé had the sense to suggest they go to Olette's, where it was safe. Luckily, she made this suggestion before they wasted anymore time outside fighting a losing battle. "We could have lost our hearts doing that."

Olette nodded. "It wasn't the most logical thing," she agreed. "But it's home. What can you do?" She walked over to the window and looked up at the sky. "Wow... Hey, it's clear out, though. And, all of the Heartless that were gathered are gone! Come look!" Naminé, Roxas and Kairi joined her by the window, admiring the bright, blue sky. "What happened?"

Roxas sighed. "Cane, maybe."

**XxxxxX**

"Axel? Where's your daughter? ...And Camilla and Deirdre?" demanded Kath as she hand-washed some of the dishes in the sink. Axel was sitting in the other room on a particularly large and comfortable beige couch.

Kamon, who was sitting at the small table in the kitchen, easily answered with, "Gone."

"Gone?" repeated Kath. Kamon nodded his head.

Kath threw the dishes into the sink, wincing when she heard something shatter, and marched into the living room. "Axel, the kids are gone?"

"Gone," he answered. "I let my daughter leave to find her boyfriend. I let her go. I let all of the girls leave."

Kath's jaw dropped. "Axel, that's not safe. They could get hurt... There are so many Heartless!"

"I know," replied Axel. "At least they're keyblade wielders."

Demyx shook his friend. "Axel, have you snapped? Have you totally lost it?"

"We have to let the others know. Someone give me their communicator," ordered Kath.

Axel shook his head. "No. You know what, this is something they have to do, especially Camilla. I remembered Quince, so I let them go."

"But they're just kids," argued Kath.

This time Demyx joined Axel in shaking his head. "Sora and the others started wielding when they were fourteen."

"But I know them," protested Kath, "so I don't... If anything happens to them, Axel, I swear to God."

Axel nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, I know. You know, when that kid attacked me back in the Deep Jungle..." His odd train of thought concerned Kath and Demyx, but they did not speak up. "And I was unconscious for a while, I saw stuff. I saw a phoenix, then I saw it burn up. And, from the ashes rose Cane, not a baby phoenix. And I saw my whole life flash before my eyes, too. All of it. It's just... I feel weird, changed."

**XxxxxX**

Camilla was beginning to grow extremely tired of the cat and mouse game that she was playing with Christian. She searched for him through the city and always found him hiding in an alleyway. Before she got too close, he would simply take off and hide somewhere else. Everywhere she went, more vines rose around her. The cracking of the vines breaking through the cement and asphalt was a pretty good tip off for Christian to know when to run. If he was using the darkness, then he couldn't have been doing it right. Unless, at the end of the day, his heart was too light to use it. Maybe that was it. A sad smile touched her lips. Christian had been wrong about Farkas being wrong, then. Her power with the vines was not one from light, she knew that. She knew that because of Sage and Laurence. It was the power of darkness, and Christian was unable to use his own darkness, so he was doing what someone in the light would: run away.

A large number of vines broke through the asphalt of the street with a sound reminiscent of gunfire. She did not even need to monitor it anymore; it just happened automatically now. She looked down the street, which went downhill. From where she stood, she had a lovely view of the beach. Despite the darkness, despite the worlds rejoining... (She could see a world in the distance, meaning that the worlds had to have rejoined by now) She could still see the sunset, and it was still beautiful. Camilla yearned for Sky Sugar ice cream and late night walks on the beach and visiting the science center out on the water.

She could not regret anymore. If she wanted to wipe this Christian impostor from existence, then she had to mean business. Camilla moved to the center of the street, only illuminated by a couple of streetlights, and the vines began to wrap around her skin while the others flew through the air, searching for their target. _'Just breathe,' _she told herself as her eyes searched the street for their target. It felt like the necklace was burning a hole into her shirt and into her skin; just another reminder of Christian.

Just then, Christian re-emerged from an alley as several vines that had broken through a window chased him. He tripped as he attempted to escape from the vegetation. As one of them seized his ankle and yanked him backwards, he got a good look at Camilla, who looked like royalty with the vines forming a circlet on her forehead. She glared at his brown eyes, which held the red tinge once more. When she looked at them, all she could think about were the ones that had pierced through the dark mirror in the haunted house over a year earlier; they were not the ones that had stared into hers and said, "I love you, Cami."

"Camilla, don't do this," pleaded Christian as more of the vines wrapped around his body, rendering him immobile. The thorns pierced through his clothes and broke more of his skin.

His voice did not exactly sound like his; not to Camilla's ears. It was rough and desperate now from all of the darkness using. "You're not right, Christian," she murmured as the vines tightened their grip. "You aren't _you_ anymore. I have to put you out of your misery. All of the people you've killed, the shit you've done... I can't let it go on." Christian's form became blurry, and Camilla realized she was crying. "I'm just sorry I wasn't around right when it happened. Maybe I could have stopped it. Maybe if I had met you just a little earlier, I could have stopped you from being taken advantage of by Xemnas." She hated that she was crying and talking things out to him because she knew _he _would not hear it because _he _was gone.

Slowly, Camilla walked toward him, almost crawled. When she reached him, she grasped his shirt, tightly, with her hands. The vines tightened around the mirror necklace, the only bit of him that was left. The bit that was too small to do anyone any good. "I love you, Cami," said Christian, blood dripping out of his mouth in the process. His voice sounded more like his now, and she found herself able to bring her face closer to his. Her heart sank a little.

"I love you, too, Chris," replied Camilla before crashing her lips against his. As their lips met, the vines became even tighter and one of them wrapped around his neck. She heard the crackling of her necklace, and heard Christian moan against her lips. The moan was not one of passion, but pain. Camilla shut her eyes and kissed him harder as blood gathered around the vine crushing Christian's trachea. She removed her hands from his shirt and clutched Christian's hands instead. His nails bit into her skin, making her bleed, but she didn't care.

If this was the last moment they got, then it was better than nothing.

**XxxxxX**

Quince shook his head as he raised Maybe Memories and backed away from the Heartless advancing toward them. How the amount had gotten so out of control, he did not know. He stood back-to-back with Nalani. "How many times are we going to nearly die like this?" he wondered.

Nalani chewed on the inside of her cheek and raised Perfect Killer in a threatening manner. "I don't think it's nearly this time, Quince. There's just no way out for us." Over a billion Neoshadows were surrounding them; it was a wonder that they were still standing. Aside from the low hiss of the Heartless, the warehouse that they were standing in was completely silent.

A Neoshadow abruptly lifted itself from the small space between them and knocked them in opposite directions. "Quince!" shouted Nalani as he fell back into a large pile of Neoshadows. He effectively kicked, punched, and knocked them off of him before scurrying into a standing position. More Heartless moved forward, trapping Nalani in a large circle of them. "Get the fuck away from me!"

"Surrender yourselves to the darkness!" a voice ordered them; it was Saïx's voice. Even more Heartless appeared and Nalani bit down harder on the inside of her mouth. Now there were not just Neoshadows, but also Shadows, Darkballs, and even a couple Mega Shadows. There truly was no way out. Not for the first time, a Neoshadow popped in front of Nalani with its claw outstretched. "You could end this, Quince. I'm watching from the highest catwalk. If you kill me, all of this will go away. But, you'll have to leave your friend behind. Which will you choose?"

Quince suddenly realized how Stefa had felt when she'd had to pick between Nalani and Dennis that time in the dark realm after Nalani had lost her heart. He made his decision quickly, but not quick enough. A piercing pain shot through his back as a Neoshadow plunged its claw into him. Nalani's face was the perfect picture of shock, but it was nothing in comparison to Quince's. His mouth was a perfect 'o' of surprise, and his brown eyes were in the very center of the widened whites.

The doors flew open as Reixka, Elie and Arach stormed inside. They were barely able to enter with the amount of Heartless. The three of them pushed through the mob, nonetheless, and eventually found Nalani, who was beside herself. She ran to Arach as soon as she saw him. "Arach, Arach, they... The Heartless... Quince..."

Elie's eyes widened. "Quince?" she demanded before gazing around the Heartless-filled room wildly. "What did he turn into? Do you know?" she asked Nalani, who shook her head.

Abruptly, something dropped from the ceiling and cleared a large amount of Heartless and also separated them in the process. "Saïx..." Arach trailed off as he approached the Berserker. "That's it. I'm tired of _you_. When I kill you this time, you're not coming back."

Arach raised Arachnid Nightmare as he closed his eyes. Elie, who was still looking around wildly, was holding onto Nalani as Reixka protected Arach from the Heartless. The keyblade became engulfed by the energy of darkness, which concerned Nalani. "Don't worry," reassured Arach as he looked back at his wife, "I promise nothing bad will happen. I could use your help, though. All of yours."

Elie nodded and pulled the dragon whistle from her pocket. She blew it and somewhere around fifty or so Heartless were lifted into the air as Ladon took shape on the warehouse's floor. Ladon was too large to fit; he destroyed the roof, and so the walls fell, too. "Ladon, you breathe fire and whatever else you do best," she called up to her dragon before turning toward Nalani. "Let's do that cool limit thing that you and Stef used to do."

Nalani, shaken by ready to destroy Saïx once and for all, nodded. The Staff of EaKaze appeared in her left hand while Perfect Killer remained in the right. "I need your help, too, Reixka," she called to the brunette who was still fighting off Heartless around Arach. Reixka nodded and joined them. Once Perfect Killer and EaKaze were glowing a teal color, Nalani hurled them near where Saïx was, knocking him away from the initial explosion. As an energy wave exploded from it, Elie waved Dragon Fang, which was glowing red, and an energy wave exploded and sailed beside Nalani's. Reixka followed the wave with Sakura Dawning glowing with gray energy and stabbed Saïx half a second before Arach, with his red-glowing keyblade, did. Saïx fell to one knee, but it still was not enough. "Do your stuff, babe," she said to Arach.

Arach raised his keyblade again and a beam shot out of the tip. The beam was deflected back downward and a large, white spider with large black eyes and furry legs appeared. He and the women watched with satisfaction as the super Spider Nobody crushed Saïx several times before injecting him with poison from one of his legs and, finally, finished off with swallowing the blue-haired man whole. After it did this, the Nobody was promptly destroyed, but no sign that Saïx had ever been there was left.

**XxxxxX**

"That was a good story," laughed Ryley weakly. Kiera wiped the bit of blood trickling around his lips. "Let me tell you one, okay?"

Kiera was ready to protest, "Ry, you should save your breath..."

"If I do, you may never hear my voice again," he mumbled. Knowing it was true, Kiera nodded and allowed him to continue. "After I lost you in that dark fairground, I was devastated. Laine told me she could not do anything for me, and I knew that. I wandered through it for a while and, eventually, Laine left when I demanded that she find a way to help you and Camilla because, let's face it, all of you needed it. I wandered through that place for a really long time until I became lost and engrossed in it. It was like I was forgetting who it was, which is probably normal since it is the dark realm... Then, there was a light in all of that darkness. You'll like this part a lot," he assured her with a weak smile. "Your mom came to me. She said she was sorry I didn't get to see my mother again. She said she was really sorry that I was in the darkness, too. She helped me remember you. We talked and talked about you because she couldn't help me escape. Of course she couldn't. If she could help me escape, then she could have gotten out, too.

"We talked for a long time. Eventually, we stopped talking. And her presence started to fade as a darker one set in... Someone I didn't recognize appeared to me and told me about my 'destiny'. He told me that I had to go back to the light and bare my blood once again... Thinking about it now, I bet it was Cane. Another voice spoke to me, too, another guy. He was nicer. He knew about you and Camilla... He liked to talk about Camilla, how much she was like her mother. In the end, he said, I had to find the light for myself. So I focused on you and... that's when I showed up at the Sea of Tranquility. That guy and the light brought me back to you."

Kiera was touched, but she had a hard time showing it because she was crying hard again. She nodded. "I know who that was. Ceron. Aunt Nalani's late-fiancé. He's nice; he helped me, too. I wish he could help now."

Ryley nodded a little. "Kiera, I just want you to know. If could, I would do it all over again. I'd follow you into the darkness, save you and Camilla from the whole Organization, and even find out I was your cousin again."

"Allegedly. I guess we'll never know now, huh?" she mumbled. "Ryley, I want you to know that... I'll never forget you."

He nodded. "Good. Because you'll have to marry someone really rich and have lots of babies and, you know, name the first boy Ryley. That would be cool. My little Kiera completely taken care of by some rich guy... Just as long as he isn't an asshole. I will come back down here and beat the shit out of him if that's the case."

Kiera managed a giggle. "I appreciate that. I guess there's one good thing to come out of this. At least, you'll be able to see your mom again."

"And, hopefully, you will, too," he mumbled. "Tell Camilla I'm not mad about our last real conversation, okay? I know why she yelled at me; because she cares about her. Tell her that I said that she better take care of you or I'll come back and haunt her."

"I wish you could tell her yourself." She looked down at Ryley and noticed his eyes were starting to close. "No, Ryley, please. Please don't go. Wait. Just wait." Kiera held Ryley up in her arms and his eye opened up again. "Kiss me one last time, okay?"

Ryley smiled. "Gladly." She put her lips to him and kissed as hard as she could while her tears slid down her face and onto his. Kiera put as much of herself into it as she could; she kissed him as if (and it was) the last time. When they parted some seconds later, he breathed, "That was the wettest and saltiest kiss I've ever had. It was amazing. Kiera, I love you. I will always love you."

"Ryley, I will never stop loving you," she promised as his eyes began to close for real. Kiera admired his thick-glasses, which were currently a little cracked and covered with grime and both of their tears. "Ry?" she prompted once his eyes were closed. "Ryley?" Kiera shook him a little. But Ryley wouldn't open his eyes again. She gently set him on the ground, kissed him one more time, before putting her face on his chest. Then, she began to cry as loud as she could manage, without restraining herself even a little.

Her sobbing did not last long as Neoshadows began to show up. Kiera picked herself up and summoned Essence of the Heart into her shaking hand. The sounds of her fighting the Heartless carried over into the park...

**XxxxxX**

Camilla did not want to think about the walks on the beach, or the late night chats from her window to Christian's. She was sitting in the middle of the street, surrounded by crumpled and dead vines, destroyed buildings and a torn up street. Christian's body had disappeared after the vines had destroyed him. It was the darkness collecting its dues, she supposed. Not that Camilla wanted to think about it. Her legs were drawn to her body with her head rested on her knees; she looked like a scared child, but she wasn't.

No fear. She had absolutely no fear. Cane was probably back by now, but she didn't care. Camilla was covered in blood, cuts, grime, and smeared eyeliner, but she was alone on the street so she didn't care about that, either. She knew that she was lying to herself. Staying in Lomura Kai, at the site of Christian's death, was not helping her. Camilla finally stood and examined herself in a nearby, unbroken window. Her pink shirt was pretty shredded, and her shorts had tears in them from the vines. Not to mention most of the blood that seemed to cover her, particularly her face, was Christian's. "I guess I'd better go back."

She turned around and stared back at the pile of vines, some of which were still colored with hers and Christian's blood. Camilla slid back down against the side of the building and sat on the sidewalk. She dropped her head into her hands and did not move from that position for a while.

**XxxxxX**

_'Just like a crow chasing the butterfly._

_In your arms, lost in the summer sky._

_When you and I were getting high as outer space._

_I never thought you'd slip away. I guess that I was just a little too late.'_

**-"The Crow and the Butterfly" by Shinedown **

"Did you guys hear that?" demanded Caleb as the sounds of metal on Heartless echoed in the park. The others nodded and, summoning their keyblades, ran to find out what the cause of the commotion was. What they found was startling, but not sad. They saw Ryley lying on the ground and Kiera fighting off a bunch of Heartless. "Kiera!" exclaimed Caleb as he, Kaspar and Anali ran forward. Cashel and Deirdre hesitated for a moment before also joining them. The group of them made short work of the Heartless. When the last one was down, Kiera collapsed.

Anali bent over her cousin immediately. "Kiera, what happened? Is Ryley okay?"

Kiera shook her head, tears still sliding down his face. "He's dead. He died of his injuries from Christian... I didn't have any magic or potions and I didn't think anyone was around..." She trailed off. "Have you guys been in the park?" Anali hated herself for doing it, knowing what she would do to her cousin, but nodded anyway. "Oh, God. I fucked up so badly. I could have saved him!" Unable to use her words any longer, Kiera threw herself at Anali. She lay, shaking and sobbing in her cousin's arms, mumbling different things for a while, like, "I want Camilla." Or "I want Dad." Or. "I want Aunt Nalani." Or "I really want my mom."

Deirdre approached Ryley, ignoring Cashel and Caleb's hisses for her to back off. She bent down and put her index and middle fingers at the side of Ryley's neck before summoning Our Lady of Sorrows. "Curaga." The yellow flower floated over Ryley before absorbing into his skin. All of Ryley's nasty gashes instantly disappeared. His eyes opened slowly. "Ryley, I knew you weren't too far gone," smiled Deirdre before she sat back. "Kiera, get up."

Anali released Kiera, who was somewhat curious as to what Deirdre wanted. When she saw Deirdre helping Ryley to sit up, she knocked him back to the ground. "Ryley, Ryley you're okay!" Kiera immediately turned toward Deirdre. "Deirdre, I could kiss you."

Smiling nervously, Deirdre raised her hands and requested, "Please don't."

Instead, Kiera completely focused her attention on Ryley. "That's it, Ry. You're stuck with me now."

He smiled. "I couldn't think of a better fate."

**XxX**

After about twenty minutes, Camilla had forced herself to return to Jewel's Grove, to her home where she found her parents and siblings. Nalani, who looked extremely distressed became more so when she saw the way her daughter looked, embraced Camilla in a bone-crushing hug. She explained what had happened to Quince, and Camilla, in turn, explained what had happened with Christian. Neither of her parents or brothers were disappointed, which did not surprise her. In fact, her parents and Kaspar even admitted that they were proud of her.

"Is Ryley okay?" asked Camilla as she recalled what Christian had said.

Kaspar nodded. "We heard something near Woodchip Mountain and found Kiera fighting off Neoshadows. She said that Ryley was dead. Then, Deirdre just went over to Ryley, checked his pulse, and used a Curaga on him. Viola! Ryley lives. He and Kiera are back home with Kath." Camilla was pleased with the news and promptly retreated to her room. Almost as soon as she got comfortable in her bed, which she had missed a lot during the past couple months, her door flew open.

"Do you know how to knock?" demanded Camilla as her twin entered the room.

"Yeah," he answered and was immediately pelted by a large, green pillow. Caleb sat beside his sister. "Little sister-"

Camilla raised an eyebrow and sat up. "Caleb, I beat you out by a minute, remember? Little brother, what do you want?"

"I want to say that I'm sorry. I know that you loved Christian and that it had to have been horrible for you to do what you did. I'm your twin; I can feel your pain," remarked Caleb as he put an arm around her shoulders. "I love you, and I know I've been giving you a really hard time with Christian, so I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Camilla nodded. "Thanks. I'm sure I'll appreciate that more later," she admitted. "For now, I really need to be alone." Caleb nodded, kissed her on the top of the head, and left.

As soon as Caleb left, Camilla began to think, although she hated to do it. The more she thought, the more her temper began to boil over, especially as she thought of Christian and how he had promised that they would stay together. He loved her, he had said. Never had he mentioned that he had allowed the darkness - a girl, actually, by the name of Keira - to use him as a puppet. Or that the only reason he wanted to take her with him to Sunset Horizons was to, eventually, help him discover where Kiera and the voodoo materials were. "Fucker," growled Camilla as she pulled off the bronze necklace that Christian had given her. She stared into its mirror and saw only a distorted version of herself: the necklace had broken while she was... dealing with Christian. How fitting that it distorted every reflection; it was like Christian, who had become distorted the moment he left Lomura. Yet, he had fooled her, hadn't he? Tears clouded her eyes, blurring the image of the necklace, and she closed them to allow the warm liquid to trickle down the side of her face. Her eyeliner was going to smear, but she didn't care anymore. She was home now, in her room. Not in her Lomura Kai one, where Christian had spotted her dancing wildly to a Taylor Swift song.

Camilla wanted to laugh at the memory, but she couldn't make the sound come out. Thinking about Christian was like taking a knife to her heart and repeatedly stabbing herself. "Fucking asshole!" she shouted as her eyes flew open and, with her best arm, she chucked the necklace against the wall, beneath the window. "Stupid boy with his stupid promises." The only reason why Christian was no longer alive was because of her, that was true. Still, the Christian she had killed hadn't been Christian at all. She had lost him a while ago. "I should've fought harder, I guess," concluded Camilla as she wiped the tears on the back of her hand.

A sudden creaking sound startled her. Camilla's body froze as she looked into the corner where the necklace lay. A strange, golden light was emitting from the mirror. She prepared to summon Dissolve and Decay as she clutched her rainbow-colored body pillow to her. The light became blaringly bright, and Camilla shielded her face behind the pillow. Finally, the light faded and she dared to peer over the pillow. What she saw made her scream; Kaspar and Caleb immediately barged into her room with their keyblades summoned. "What?" demanded Kaspar as he looked around wildly. He and Caleb immediately noticed what she was staring at, and they did not quite know how to react. There was a boy crouched in the corner of her room, a boy with brunet hair that held a red sheen and large, brown eyes. A boy that looked much like (but, at the same time, not) Ryley.

Camilla jumped off of her bed and threw herself into Christian's arms. "I don't understand! What happened?" she demanded. Then, she hesitantly separated herself and stared at him. "You're... you again, right?"

Christian laughed and nodded; Camilla threw herself back into his arms. "That necklace I gave you... I gave it to you for another reason, not just because it was beautiful like you," he admitted. "I knew there was a chance that something bad could happen when I left with Xemnas and embraced my darkness, so I... I received a package earlier with a bunch of shit, and one of them was a thick book of notes. I looked at one of the pages and it had information about putting a piece of yourself in something else. So, I did it with the necklace. I literally gave you a piece of me."

"Wait, I don't know how I feel about this," announced Kaspar.

Camilla looked back at her older brother. "No one cares, Kaspar," she said before kissing Christian.

**XxxxxX**

Stefa and Quince's house was once again illuminated by a bunch of lights. Misao and Bryce were sleeping in Kiera's bed upstairs while Ryley and Kiera loitered in the kitchen. Just then, the laundry room door flew open as Kath entered with a manila envelope. "Guess what's been sitting here for God only knows how long?"

Ryley and Kiera both groaned. "The test results," he mumbled.

Kath raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I took you two in November not for my own health. You two have been so bothered by this whole family thing that I think you need to know. So, here." She handed the envelope to Kiera, who raised her hands in surrender. "What?"

"No, no. I don't want to read it."

Ryley shook his head and outstretched his hand. "Give it to me. We know that Cane can't be trusted," he said as he opened the clasp with shaking hands. He slowly reached into grab the papers. "Are you sure you don't want to do the honors?"

Kiera, who was sitting on the countertop in front of the sink, shook her head as she focused her hands on playing with the purple scarf around her neck. Both she and Ryley had changed shortly after returning home. After Kaspar had cured Ryley, he had driven them home and, shortly after, Kath had brought Misao and Bryce over. "No, no. You do the honors." Ryley nodded and pulled out a paper. His eyes scanned the words once, twice, then for a third time.

Kath sighed. "Well? What does it say?"

Ryley hesitantly brought his eyes up to Kiera's. "I guess your eye coloring was no accident after all."

She blinked, the words not immediately taking on a meaning in her mind. "Wait. What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

Kiera jumped off the countertop and took the paper out of his hand. Her eyes widened slowly. "So, Mom never had to divorce..." She stopped herself because she knew it wasn't the truth. "Then, that means... You and I are... We're fine! We're okay! We're... we're great!" She allowed the paper to slip through her fingers and flutter to the floor as she threw her arms around Ryley's neck.

Ryley pulled her to him with the same amount of enthusiasm before their lips met. "We're not cousins. I knew that it couldn't be right; it never felt wrong for us, you know?"

"I do, I do," agreed Kiera with an ample amount of enthusiasm. "I love you. I love you so much."

Kath reached into the envelope to grab the second paper. "As for Ryley..." Because there was nothing of Cane's left anywhere with his DNA, they had to take something of Quince's to confirm that Ryley was or was not his son. She shook her head as she read the results. "No, sorry, Ry. You're still the demon seed."

"I don't care," replied Ryley as he held Kiera in his arms. "Kiera not being related to me in any way, shape, or form is good enough for me."

Kath nodded. "Yeah... Too bad for Quince. He never had any actual kids of his own before..." The room fell silent. Ryley was not taking the news of Quince's demise well, which was particularly obvious because he had not reacted to it at all. "I guess you're good enough, Ryley."

"You guess?" echoed Kiera. "That's not nice. How were you my mother's favorite?"

"Just look at me, and you'll figure out the answer," replied Kath with a smile. "So, let's celebrate the news. Call everyone up and we'll have a party over here."

**XxX**

As everyone had returned to Jewel's Grove (they had to in order to get their kids), reaching everyone and calling them over to the house was a simple job. "Dad, did you really have to lock Christian in the basement?" demanded Camilla as she and Arach entered the house.

He nodded. "Sure. Until he proves himself as harmless, he can live in the basement."

"But there's... no food," pointed out Camilla. "And what about Cashel?"

Kaspar clapped her on the back. "Don't you worry about that. Cashel said that he's moving to Twilight Town."

Camilla raised an eyebrow. "Twilight Town? Why?"

"Because Roxas seems a whole lot friendlier than Arach," answered Cashel with a grin. "Sorry, kid. You'll just have to get on with your life and try to get over me," he said to Camilla.

Camilla shoved him onto the loveseat. "I'll try my hardest, Cash-Cash."

Kiera found her and attached herself to Camilla instantly, as did Ryley. "So, what's this I hear about a killer living in your basement?"

"He's not a _killer_," groaned Camilla. "I swear, he's normal and amazing. You'll see. We'll be doing a lot of hanging out together, the four of us."

"Can't wait," mumbled Ryley. "Maybe I'll have nightmares only for a few extra months."

Kath, Reixka, Elie, Riku and Nalani were having a meeting in the kitchen. After a few, sexist jokes from Kath, who was like the spitting image of Stefa, they began to talk seriously. "Okay. No Stefa still and no Quince. What are we going to do about Ryley and Kiera?" asked Kath.

"Ryley can live with Demyx and I," replied Elie. "I'd be more than willing to take Kiera, too."

"But Kiera's my daughter, so I think she should come home with me," argued Riku.

Nalani waved him off. "That one's not gonna work out. Stef's family will kill you if you take Kiera away from them."

"And Ryley wouldn't be happy, either," added Reixka. "Kiera could live with Axel and I during the school year, and she can spend summer, winter, and spring breaks with you, Riku." The group came to a consensus immediately.

Anali, Kiera, Camilla and Ryley quickly figured out the actual reason why Cashel wanted to move to Twilight Town. They found him in the backyard, having a snowball fight with Deirdre. "Man, you got over me fast!" exclaimed Camilla as they went into the backyard. Midnight bolted out of the house and jumped on Cashel. "I knew that dog loved me."

"You know what this calls for?" asked Kiera.

"A video camera?" replied Ryley.

Kiera shook her head. "No," she answered before digging into the pocket of her very large sweatshirt and pulled out several individually wrapped ice creams. "Sea Salt ice cream!"

Anali took one. "Sea salt ice cream fixes everything."

Camilla unwrapped hers and put it to Anali's lips. In the Camilla, Kiera, Ryley trio, Anali was like Elie had been for Nalani, Stefa and Quince: a fourth musketeer. The four of them had been playing together since they were small children. "Anali, you just... Did something super amazing. What are you going to do now?"

"Go to Disney World!" **(A/n: KH fail.) **

"Ry?"

"Stay far away from your boyfriend."

Camilla turned toward Kiera. "And, last but not least, Kier?"

"Never, ever cry that hard again. My head hurts like hell," replied Kiera before chewing off a chunk of Camilla's popsicle.

"Kiera! You're such a buttmunch!" Camilla pushed her into the snow and proceeded to throw snowballs at her. Ryley and Anali joined immediately, as did Deirdre and Cashel. Sooner or later, all of the kids were involved in the huge snowball fight.

Kairi shook her head and smiled. "It almost seems like nothing's changed."

"Hopefully, it'll be like this for a while," replied Naminé as Demyx and Axel went outside. Demyx used his water to freeze the snow while Axel made the ice into snowballs and began to pelt it at the kids.

Reixka shouted, "Axel, Demyx, that's not fair!" She, Elie, Nalani and Holly immediately joined the kids while Arach joined Demyx and Axel. Before long, the whole backyard was filled with everyone throwing snowballs at one another. For the time being, it was nice to be normal. At least, as normal as the keyblade wielders could get.

**XxxxxX**

Cane had been forced to return to Kingdom Hearts although he hated the place. Together, he and Keira had been able to retrieve Stefa's body before the latter disappeared into the darkness. This meant that the worlds, which had just finished joining together, were separating once again. Now he sat in the middle of his dark fairground in the dark realm with Stefa's actual body lying in the sand before him.

He watched her unconscious form with amusement. The power her body was giving off was lethal, and it was no where near awakened. He was quite sure that if he came too close that he would be skinned alive. What a way to go. Absolutely everything had led up to this, now all he had to do was wait a few more minutes. When Stefa's body bolted into a sitting position abruptly, even Cane was willing to admit, grudgingly, that his breath had caught. He quickly became calm and prepared as he stood and watched her.

Stefa's eyelids peeled back to reveal the eyes that had been resting for too long. However, the irises weren't the same varying shades of hazel-green as they normally were, and the pupils weren't taking up most of the space on them. All that there was of the eyes was pure white. The sand of Cane's kingdom in the making was kicked up as several different energy blasts erupted from her body and tore through the ground. Cane lifted his arms in a protective 'x', quickly summoning a shield, and the attack harmlessly went around him.

He gazed at his surroundings and nodded with satisfaction. Just as quickly as the attack had escaped Stefa's body, it reversed. The clouds of darkness began to move backwards, and the sand returned. White escaped Stefa's heart and a faint humming was heard as everything reversed, and time flew backwards.

* * *

**A/n: Out of all the endings I wrote for this story, I like the one I went with the best. I will have a ton of notes in the epilogue. Hope everyone enjoyed this!**


	22. Wait for Me

**Epilogue**:  
Wait For Me

_'I hear you laugh, I heard you sing,_

_I wouldn't change a single thing._

_The wheels just keep on turnin',_

_The drummer begins to drum,_

_I don't know which way I'm goin', I don't know which way I've come.'_

**-"ü **(Or Til Kingdom Come)**" by Coldplay**

**A/n: Enjoy and definitely listen to the song! I actually had no clue which lyrics to use from the song; a lot of them work very well. The end of this will be filled with notes. ;)**

**

* * *

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The heat in Jewel's Grove was reaching a record high for it only being the middle of June. In every neighborhood, the windows of every house were opened. "It's eighty degrees. I'm dying!" complained a girl with dirty blond hair in one of the backyards. She was lying on her stomach on a cushioned lawn chair beside a brunette who was doing the same thing. A sudden burst of water escaped from the pool they were lying near and covered them with water. Both girls immediately bolted upright.

"Buttmunch, if you can't act like a mature dude, then get out of my pool!" shouted the brunette as she pushed her plastered bangs out of her eyes. "Stef, could you remind me why we're friends with him? Stefa?"

Stefa, however, was sitting up on the now-soaked lawn chair and was staring at the pool's ladder as the boy that had been chastised exited the pool. He wore a pair of plain red swimming trunks and, as he descended the ladder, he shook his chocolate-colored hair out of his face. "Don't be so lame, Nalani. I was just having fun," remarked the boy, who seemed totally unaware that Stefa was staring at his somewhat muscular chest and abs.

Nalani hit Stefa's head before replying, "I'm not being lame. You're being a moron. Hey, Stef, why are you _drooling _so much?" she added with a playful grin.

Stefa's cheeks turned red. "Uh... Because I need to get back into the pool; I'm really hot."

Quince nodded. "You sure are," he replied, sitting in Stefa's place as she jumped into Nalani's above ground pool.

"Don't troll her, Quince. You and Ceron... Speaking of Ceron, why aren't you with him? Stef and I need our girl talk time," pointed out Nalani as Quince laid back on the chair and closed his eyes.

"Feel free; I'll be here, tanning."

Nalani groaned as she stood up. She purposely stopped over Quince and rung her hair out on his chest. "Payback's a bitch, Quince," she chirped before entering the pool. "Stefa," she dropped her voice to a whisper. "Why did you have to pick such an a-hole for a crush?"

"Because we've been the three musketeers since we were, like, six. So, even if I didn't have a crush on him, he'd still be around," replied Stefa defensively.

"Fine, fine," mumbled Nalani. "But if something tragic happens once we start high school, like a senior pushes him down the stairs, you'd better pick someone who's less of an asshole and doesn't steal my flat iron to do his hair."

Stefa laughed and jumped on her best friend. "Come on, you _love _it!"

"Not as much as I love the two of you." They heard Quince say before both of them were pushed under the water.

When they resurfaced, Nalani and Stefa's voices screaming, "Quince!" echoed throughout the neighborhood.

**XxxxxX**

The sun was setting in the distance, behind the ocean, and the fifteen-year-old Sora had a perfect seat from where he sat on the Paopu tree. He was trying not to think, but this was proving difficult as there was something important practically burning in his hands. Sora looked back down at the letter, which was now starting to fall apart a little, and reread it for the tenth time. There were people counting on him to help. How was he supposed to help people that he did not even _know_? The King had said in the letter that he had the whole summer to make up his mind, so he would definitely take advantage of that. In the meantime, he had sent Kairi and Riku away while he mulled it over, just a little.

The Keyblade Master could never catch a break.

**Xx****xxx****X**

Despite the warmth of the day, the park was empty of any and all children. Only one person was at the park, and she was well into her teenage years. The teenager sat stationary on the swing set with her head resting in one hand. She was wearing a pair of light, bootcut jeans with black boots and a light blue tee. Needless to say, she was burning up.

Reixka heaved a deep breath before sitting up straight. She wanted to get up but did not know what to do. When she heard two voices that sounded like Stefa and Nalani scream Quince's name, she shot out of her seat and became further confused. Quince was gone. The thing that confused her the most was why she looked like she was seventeen again.

"Why the long face? You're at a park, so shouldn't you be happy?" The voice was not one that Reixka recognized, but she looked around and, realizing that no one else was around, knew the person was talking to her. She looked to the right and found a teenager smirking at her.

The teenager was about the same height as Reixka and also had another interesting similarity. Although her hair color was different (it was pale blond), she had streaks (violet-colored) running through her hair; it was a particularly funny coincidence. She wore an off-the-shoulder black tank top with purple cloth that wrapped around her arms in an 'x' design, a blue-violet skirt over a pair of short leggings, and a pair of black and grey steel-toed boots. Tied around the girl's head like a headband was a lilac-colored bandana with black star designs. Reixka could not wave off the girl's appearance as a coincidence. Although her head hurt a lot, she recalled Roxas describing this same girl before. "You... are you... Keira."

Keira smiled. Her coral-colored lips pulled back in an almost cruel fashion; it reminded Reixka of Farkas. "Good, you do remember me. I expected as much. I am sort of disappointed, but, what can you do? One memory out of a million."

"What are you talking about?" asked Reixka guardedly.

"Really, Rei? Really?" Keira's cruel smile became further pronounced at Reixka's reaction of her use of 'Rei.' "I'm sort of disappointed. I thought you would understand. It's good that you didn't go to Nalani's house; the three of them probably would have thought you were some insane stalker. You, dear, are the only person who remembers your, ah, previous life. Yeah, let's call it that."

Reixka took a few steps toward Keira and Sakura Dawning appeared in her hand immediately. "Previous life? What happened? Why am I seventeen, where is my kid, and why are Stefa and Quince alive?"

"So sharp, aren't you? Most people could have waved that off as a coincidence, but not you. Well, if you must know, Cane and I went to Kingdom Hearts and retrieved Stefa. When she woke up, her newly cleansed heart unlocked some ultimate power and reversed time. So, you're seventeen again because of your once Somebody. You have no daughter, no husband, and no niece because of Stefa. All of the kids? Gone."

"But... Cane?"

Keira smirked. "Alive and well. Now, I'd love to chat some more with you, but I have to go. Don't worry. No matter where you are, I'll always be able to find you, if you find you need to talk. Enjoy your new, lonely life." And, just like that, she disappeared into a portal.

**XxxxxX**

A group of teenagers were causing somewhat of a commotion near the ocean in Lomura Kai. Holly was lounging back on a bench far away from the ocean. Arach and Laurence sat on either side of her while Sage sat in the sand. The four of them were watching Tiesa hold Destine immobile while she poured a bucket full of sand down the latter's shorts. "Stop, Tiesa! God, you're _so _annoying!" screamed Destine as she broke away from her redheaded friend. She ran further down the beach, down the shore, and into the water.

"Is this really the highlight of our night?" demanded Holly as she watched Tiesa push Destine into the water.

Arach shrugged. "It is sort of amusing to watch someone beating on Destine, but... Hell, no. Let's go to the bar. Got your IDs?" The others nodded. "Alright. Des, Tiesa!"

Holly elbowed him. "Why? Why do they have to come? Why do they have to ruin our fun?"

"Holl, once you get a few drinks into you, I guarantee you that you'll be grinding with both of them on the dance floor. Like you always do," reminded Sage with a smirk. Holly kicked sand at him as Tiesa and Destine joined them.

"We going out?" asked Tiesa as she dug in her pocket for her fake ID.

Destine groaned. "What? I have to go home and change. I'm soaked!"

"No one cares, Destine. Let's just go," replied Arach. Unsurprisingly enough, Destine complied immediately. Nothing ever changed.

* * *

**A/n: There's the tiny little epilogue. It covers what it needs to. Sora's part will be the starting point for the next story; yep, we're starting off with the letter again! :) This time I mean it when I say **_**the next story is the last**_**. No more with this series. I love my characters dearly, but I have to end this. xD' On that note, thank you to anyone has read and reviewed, but Lesser definitely deserves a little shout out. You know that without you, this series wouldn't have gotten so far and I actually prolly would have given up a while ago. Thank you for giving me many amazing ideas, putting my characters on paper, and just giving me the drive to write this; e muja oui! :D I hope that everyone enjoyed the story and will look out for my next (and last) one, which I will probably start updating... in a week or so? Time for notes!**

**Kiera **- Ah, precious Kiera with the seafoam-colored eyes. I've had a thing for Riku's eyes ever since I played KH, so, of course, Kiera had to get his eyes. I ultimately chose Kiera to be Riku's daughter simply because Stefa technically ended up with Quince in the end, and I wanted to honor Riku/Stefa, I guess? I don't know. I'm very biased, but I do love Kiera. I love her keyblade almost as much. Thank you, awesome shop in Chicago for hooking me up with the necklace that became Kiera's keyblade!

**Ryley - **Ryley I may like even more than I do any other OC I've made. I don't know, though, 'cause I like them all. He's been through a lot of shit. D: I was going to end the story with Ryley dying from his wounds (which you can still tell), and had him live in the alternate ending. However, I hated having two endings and hated killing off Ryley even more, so I fixed it so that my new favorite, Deirdre, could save the day.

**Cam - **Oh, Camilla. I love Camilla (again, biased). I'm really surprised about what I made her into. I love the way that she and Caleb acted together, the way they think on the same wavelength and all that. So, the original plan for the epilogue was that she, Kier, Ry & her brothers got their own little section (this was before the ending I chose) and she ended up with Cashel. I scrapped the idea, and I'm glad I did because, let's face it, I love using necklaces as key motifs and, Camilla grew to like Christian in a way she didn't with Cashel (though I wish I had done more scenes involving her & Cashel) and, so, killing off her true love seemed too cruel. Basically, I love Kiera, Ryley and Camilla - they hold many more high school memories for me than Stef/Nal/Quince, so I will reallyreally miss them.

**Deirdre & Kamon **- I wish I had done more with these characters, too. In the end, I'm satisfied I gave Deirdre somewhat of an important role in the end and I'm also pleased that I gave her a character change. If you couldn't tell, Deirdre and Cashel were supposed to end up together so that both of them could be happy. x3 As for Kamon, well... Oops. xD' His name is from the Silver/Gold/Crystal Pokemon games, and his keyblade, as I mentioned in the previous story, is a play on a Pokemon name, Feraligatr.

**Christian - **I almost forgot a section on this guy. Christian was created shortly after the Rest of My Life ended last year. Lesser came up with the idea of a kid who was Arach's illegitimate child... and I ran with it! Instead, I actually made him Cane's son (because that just made so many great things happen). He was originally to kill off either Caleb and Kaspar, but I decided against that because... I like both boys. The idea for Christian to actually be Tiesa's child came upon me unexpectedly. I wanted a plot twist, so I decided to make him Tiesa's kid. There are a million things I could blab about where Christian is concerned, but I'll restrain myself. The necklace he gave Camilla, the one that revived him, actually belongs to Lesser; it's a beautiful necklace. She came up with the idea (which shouldn't surprise you... most of the amazing plot points come from her. xD')

**Various voices **- So, all of those dream sequences with characters talking to voices (like in Quince's dream sequence and Sora's sequence on Destiny Islands) are super important for the next story. The next story will, by the way, include Birth By Sleep & Days stuff and will be more of a KH3 kind of thing. Like Two-sided, but more accurate.

**From Beyond the Grave **- The title was actually chosen for a very good reason (like all of the others), but it's meaning is the most important out of all my story titles so far, I think. What it basically means is all of the influence these people who are gone (not necessarily dead, but dead to the world) have and use. Stefa has the influence to help her friends still and, in the end, totally mess up time; Cane has the influence/power to pit two close colleagues against each other, set up his own revival, etc; Tiesa has the influence to reveal the truth about Christian and other stuff; and Keira has the influence to... Well, if I went into the details, I'd give away the next story.


End file.
